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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a document
  7. court — of law
  8. clip — for paper
  9. court — for sport
  10. board — to get on
  11. bark — to shout
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. clip — to cut
  14. stand — to bear
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. board — a committee
  18. file — a line of people
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. court — of a king
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. clip — a video
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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