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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. mark — a trace
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. season — of the year
  5. clip — for paper
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. clip — to cut
  9. chest — of your body
  10. season — in sport
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. current — electric
  13. last — finally
  14. last — final
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — of water
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. mark — a grade
  19. clip — a video
  20. board — to get on
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. last — to go on
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — a sauce

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