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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 120 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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. board — a committee
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. clip — to cut
  8. band — a music group
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. chest — a box
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. band — a ring
  18. pound — a weight
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. cabinet — ministers

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