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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 120 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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. board — to get on
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. clip — a video
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. board — a committee
  12. saw — the tool
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. clip — for paper
  15. saw — the tool
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. clip — to cut
  22. vault — a safe
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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