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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. board — to get on
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. sharp — clever
  5. mark — a trace
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. clip — a video
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. wake — a trail
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wax — to grow
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. mark — a grade
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. sharp — exactly
  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