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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. board — a committee
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — a lid
  7. clip — for paper
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. net — after costs
  10. cap — of ice
  11. clip — a video
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. game — a match
  17. board — to get on
  18. game — wild animals
  19. rash — a series
  20. row — to paddle
  21. clip — to cut
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — a line
  24. rash — hasty

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