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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. staff — employees
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. board — a committee
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. tear — to rip
  9. clip — a video
  10. stem — to come from
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. staff — a stick
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to bend
  15. bass — low music
  16. clip — to cut
  17. tear — from crying
  18. clip — for paper
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. tear — from crying
  21. staff — employees
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bass — the fish

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