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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 116 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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. rest — what's left
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. board — to get on
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. hand — in cards
  16. clip — to cut
  17. hand — help
  18. content — happy
  19. clip — a video
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rest — a break
  24. content — the amount

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