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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 116 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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. ball — a dance
  3. court — of law
  4. pitch — completely
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. ball — a great time
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mate — a partner
  9. court — of a king
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. last — final
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. last — to go on
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. mate — to breed
  16. clip — a video
  17. board — a committee
  18. last — finally
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mate — a friend
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. court — for sport

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