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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. clip — a video
  4. date — the fruit
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. board — a committee
  8. mine — for digging
  9. clip — to cut
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rest — a break
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. spring — the season
  14. hand — in cards
  15. stand — to bear
  16. spring — of water
  17. board — to get on
  18. spring — a coil
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. clip — for paper
  22. hand — help
  23. rest — what's left
  24. date — on the calendar

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