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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. clip — a video
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. clip — for paper
  9. row — a line
  10. season — of the year
  11. clip — to cut
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. season — in sport
  16. pound — a weight
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. row — to paddle
  20. board — a committee
  21. bore — to tire
  22. board — to get on
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. dip — to sink

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