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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — what's left
  3. track — to keep track
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. board — a committee
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. track — a path
  9. wind — moving air
  10. track — a song
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bear — the animal
  15. board — to get on
  16. rest — a break
  17. wind — moving air
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — a practice
  21. clip — a video
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. drill — the tool
  24. clip — to cut

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