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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. clip — to cut
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tube — a container
  5. land — to come down
  6. saw — the tool
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. board — to get on
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. clip — a video
  12. saw — the tool
  13. land — ground
  14. land — a country
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chip — to eat
  17. perch — the fish
  18. clip — for paper
  19. tube — the underground
  20. board — a committee
  21. chip — for betting
  22. cap — a lid
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cap — a hat

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