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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. clip — to cut
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. sharp — clever
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. clip — a video
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. chip — to eat
  10. craft — boats
  11. board — to get on
  12. craft — a skill
  13. stock — goods
  14. stem — to come from
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. board — a committee
  18. stock — shares
  19. game — wild animals
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. chip — for betting
  23. game — a match
  24. clip — for paper

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