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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. clip — a video
  3. land — to come down
  4. board — a committee
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. wound — an injury
  11. sharp — clever
  12. fine — all right
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fine — high quality
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bark — to shout
  18. board — to get on
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. land — a country
  22. cap — a lid
  23. clip — to cut
  24. land — ground

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