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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. hand — help
  8. cell — in biology
  9. board — to get on
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bound — obliged
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — certain
  15. board — a committee
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cell — a phone
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. dip — to sink
  22. clip — a video
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hand — in cards

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