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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. clip — for paper
  5. board — to get on
  6. clip — to cut
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. board — a committee
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bat — the animal
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. fall — the season
  17. clip — a video
  18. fall — to drop
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. fall — to drop
  21. mine — for digging
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. dip — to sink

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