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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. board — a committee
  6. clip — a video
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. net — in sport
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bark — to shout
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cell — a phone
  16. net — for catching
  17. board — to get on
  18. staff — employees
  19. net — after costs
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — a stick
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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