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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 120 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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. board — a committee
  4. object — a thing
  5. face — to confront
  6. clip — a video
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. drill — a practice
  9. clip — for paper
  10. shower — rain
  11. face — part of the head
  12. object — to protest
  13. drill — the tool
  14. swing — in golf
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. object — an aim
  17. board — to get on
  18. drill — army training
  19. shower — to wash
  20. swing — music
  21. face — to point toward
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rash — a series

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