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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. clip — a video
  3. key — the most important part
  4. mate — a friend
  5. court — for sport
  6. mate — to breed
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. mate — a partner
  9. tear — to rip
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. key — in music
  12. board — a committee
  13. key — for a lock
  14. shower — rain
  15. court — of law
  16. clip — for paper
  17. content — the amount
  18. court — of a king
  19. shower — to wash
  20. tear — from crying
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — happy
  23. clip — to cut
  24. tear — from crying

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com