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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. board — a committee
  4. net — in sport
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. spring — of water
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. clip — for paper
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. clip — to cut
  11. net — after costs
  12. lie — to recline
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. net — for catching
  15. root — of a plant
  16. board — to get on
  17. band — a music group
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. band — a ring
  21. clip — a video
  22. root — of a word
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. root — the cause

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