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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. board — a committee
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. saw — the tool
  6. court — of law
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. court — for sport
  11. wax — to grow
  12. clip — for paper
  13. net — after costs
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. court — of a king
  16. net — for catching
  17. board — to get on
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — a measure
  22. net — in sport
  23. clip — a video
  24. board — a flat piece

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