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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — there
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. row — a line
  13. bass — the fish
  14. present — a gift
  15. clip — for paper
  16. row — to paddle
  17. board — to get on
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. board — a committee
  20. date — the fruit
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. clip — a video

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