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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. clip — to cut
  3. staff — employees
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. clip — for paper
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bulb — for light
  10. spring — a coil
  11. chest — a box
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. board — to get on
  14. rule — a law
  15. spring — the season
  16. rule — government
  17. chest — of your body
  18. clip — a video
  19. spring — of water
  20. staff — employees
  21. vault — a safe
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. staff — a stick
  24. bulb — for light

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