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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — a short time
  6. scale — size or range
  7. wind — moving air
  8. net — in sport
  9. board — a committee
  10. clip — for paper
  11. board — to get on
  12. net — after costs
  13. bound — obliged
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bound — certain
  16. net — for catching
  17. spell — letters
  18. bound — tied together
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. scale — in music
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. lie — to recline

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