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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cue — a hint
  5. clip — a video
  6. tear — from crying
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — clever
  9. board — to get on
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cue — for pool
  12. tear — from crying
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. board — a committee
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — for paper
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cue — a signal
  22. clip — to cut
  23. saw — the tool
  24. hand — help

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