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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. game — a match
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. clip — for paper
  5. game — wild animals
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — to confront
  8. board — to get on
  9. clip — a video
  10. face — part of the head
  11. prune — to trim
  12. last — finally
  13. stand — to bear
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. last — to go on
  18. swing — music
  19. board — a committee
  20. last — final
  21. swing — in golf
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. swing — to play on

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