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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. board — a committee
  3. object — to protest
  4. mark — a grade
  5. net — for catching
  6. ground — crushed
  7. clip — for paper
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. net — after costs
  10. ground — the earth
  11. lean — to bend
  12. net — in sport
  13. board — to get on
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. clip — a video
  17. ground — a position
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. object — an aim
  20. clip — to cut
  21. object — a thing
  22. mark — a trace
  23. lean — thin
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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