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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 124 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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. board — to get on
  6. march — music
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. mine — for digging
  9. kid — to tease
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — government
  12. bank — for money
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bank — for money
  15. march — the month
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. kid — child
  18. march — the month
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. bank — of a river
  23. dip — to sink
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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