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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. game — wild animals
  3. drill — a practice
  4. spring — of water
  5. board — a committee
  6. drill — army training
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. deal — to handle
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. game — a match
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — completely
  13. clip — a video
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. spring — the season
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. drill — the tool
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. spring — a coil
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. board — to get on
  23. sharp — clever
  24. clip — for paper

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