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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. board — to get on
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. foot — a measure
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. press — newspapers
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. root — the cause
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. clip — a video
  16. root — of a word
  17. mine — for digging
  18. board — a committee
  19. clip — to cut
  20. press — to push
  21. press — a publisher
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. spring — a coil
  24. root — of a plant

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