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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. swing — in golf
  3. wound — an injury
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. drill — a practice
  6. game — wild animals
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — the tool
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mate — a partner
  13. clip — for paper
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. board — a committee
  16. clip — to cut
  17. board — to get on
  18. fork — in a road
  19. mate — a friend
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. clip — a video
  24. wound — an injury

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