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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. tube — the underground
  3. clip — for paper
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. clip — to cut
  6. spring — a coil
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. craft — boats
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — a container
  11. clip — a video
  12. spring — the season
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. board — to get on
  17. board — a committee
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. spring — of water
  22. sharp — clever
  23. dip — to sink
  24. craft — a skill

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