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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 116 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. swing — music
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. swing — in golf
  10. content — the amount
  11. clip — a video
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. board — a committee
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. branch — a division
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. content — happy
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. clip — to cut

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