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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. board — a committee
  3. stock — shares
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. clip — to cut
  6. spell — letters
  7. fall — to drop
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. fall — to drop
  11. field — for sport
  12. spell — magic
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. stock — goods
  19. bulb — for light
  20. fall — the season
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. board — to get on
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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