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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rash — hasty
  4. staff — employees
  5. last — to go on
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. club — for golf
  8. board — a committee
  9. clip — for paper
  10. kid — to tease
  11. staff — a stick
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. clip — a video
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. rash — a series
  16. board — to get on
  17. last — finally
  18. staff — employees
  19. club — for dancing
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. last — final
  22. kid — child
  23. club — a group
  24. sharp — clever

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