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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stand — to bear
  4. clip — to cut
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. board — to get on
  8. pass — a permit
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. clip — a video
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. clip — for paper
  15. stem — to come from
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. sharp — clever
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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