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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cue — a hint
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — a position
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. face — to point toward
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. cue — for pool
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. clip — for paper
  14. face — part of the head
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. wind — moving air
  19. ground — the earth
  20. clip — to cut
  21. face — to confront
  22. chair — a leader
  23. cue — a signal
  24. clip — a video

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