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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. lean — to bend
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. lean — thin
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. season — in sport
  8. board — to get on
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. row — to paddle
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — completely
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. board — a committee
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. season — of the year
  24. perch — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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