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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a committee
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. bass — low music
  6. clip — to cut
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. file — a tool
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. file — a document
  15. object — an aim
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. clip — a video
  18. file — a line of people
  19. object — to protest
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. kick — in football
  23. bass — the fish
  24. object — a thing

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