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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 124 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. board — a committee
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. clip — to cut
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. current — of water
  8. board — to get on
  9. wind — moving air
  10. firm — steady
  11. press — to push
  12. press — a publisher
  13. wind — moving air
  14. press — newspapers
  15. clip — a video
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. firm — decided
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. current — happening now
  21. firm — a company
  22. current — electric
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. wind — to turn a key

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