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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 116 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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  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. mark — a trace
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. board — to get on
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. mark — a grade
  7. spring — the season
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rash — a series
  10. bat — the animal
  11. board — a committee
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. rash — hasty
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. clip — a video
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. fan — a supporter
  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