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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. charge — in control
  4. mine — for digging
  5. face — to confront
  6. root — the cause
  7. board — to get on
  8. spring — the season
  9. root — of a word
  10. clip — for paper
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. face — to point toward
  13. charge — electricity
  14. clip — to cut
  15. row — to paddle
  16. charge — a price
  17. row — a line
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. clip — a video
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. root — of a plant
  24. board — a committee

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