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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bound — tied together
  3. ground — crushed
  4. board — a committee
  5. bound — certain
  6. last — to go on
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. rash — a series
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. board — to get on
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bound — obliged
  18. perch — the fish
  19. ground — the earth
  20. wake — a trail
  21. ground — a position
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. last — final
  24. last — finally

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