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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. track — to keep track
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. board — to get on
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. track — a song
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. clip — to cut
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — music
  23. fine — high quality
  24. board — a committee

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