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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. shower — to wash
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. shower — rain
  6. clip — for paper
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. rush — hurry
  12. board — to get on
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. clip — to cut
  15. march — the month
  16. clip — a video
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. saw — the tool
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. staff — a stick
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. net — after costs
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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