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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. wind — moving air
  3. toast — bread
  4. march — the month
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cue — a signal
  9. wind — moving air
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. board — to get on
  14. cue — a hint
  15. board — a committee
  16. march — the month
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. clip — to cut
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. cue — for pool
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. clip — a video
  24. march — music

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