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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 124 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. fall — to drop
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. board — a committee
  5. clip — a video
  6. board — to get on
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. court — of a king
  9. dip — to sink
  10. fall — to drop
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. ground — the earth
  13. fall — the season
  14. ground — a position
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — a thing
  18. ground — crushed
  19. clip — for paper
  20. object — an aim
  21. branch — a division
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  24. clip — to cut

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