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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. clip — for paper
  3. net — in sport
  4. board — to get on
  5. shower — to wash
  6. staff — employees
  7. chip — for betting
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. rock — music
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. shower — rain
  13. clip — a video
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. clip — to cut
  16. staff — a stick
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. net — after costs
  19. board — a committee
  20. chip — to eat
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. rock — a stone
  23. net — for catching
  24. staff — employees

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