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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. board — a committee
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. vault — a safe
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. row — to paddle
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. kick — in football
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. capital — a city
  18. board — to get on
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. row — a line
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. capital — money
  24. row — a quarrel

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