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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. board — to get on
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. can — a tin
  6. swing — music
  7. can — to be able to
  8. band — a ring
  9. row — a line
  10. board — a committee
  11. clip — a video
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. band — a music group
  14. clip — to cut
  15. can — a tin
  16. swing — in golf
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — to paddle
  20. swing — to play on
  21. clip — for paper
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. sharp — clever

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