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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — crushed
  5. spell — a short time
  6. ground — a position
  7. clip — to cut
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. board — to get on
  10. face — to confront
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a city
  15. season — of the year
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. spell — magic
  18. charge — in control
  19. charge — a price
  20. face — to point toward
  21. spell — letters
  22. season — in sport
  23. face — part of the head
  24. charge — electricity

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