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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. clip — for paper
  3. ground — a position
  4. club — a group
  5. rush — hurry
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — a committee
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. board — to get on
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. clip — to cut
  13. capital — a city
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. club — for dancing
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. clip — a video
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. capital — money
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. club — for golf

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