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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. land — a country
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bound — obliged
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. land — ground
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. firm — steady
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bound — tied together
  15. mine — for digging
  16. board — a committee
  17. clip — a video
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bound — certain
  21. board — to get on
  22. firm — a company
  23. firm — decided
  24. land — to come down

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