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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. last — to go on
  4. board — a committee
  5. chair — a leader
  6. clip — a video
  7. land — a country
  8. clip — to cut
  9. board — to get on
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mine — for digging
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. land — ground
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. last — finally
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. land — to come down
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. last — final

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