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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 120 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. vault — a safe
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. board — to get on
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. staff — employees
  7. wind — moving air
  8. clip — a video
  9. row — a line
  10. fine — all right
  11. staff — employees
  12. clip — for paper
  13. staff — a stick
  14. wind — moving air
  15. row — to paddle
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. board — a committee
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. fine — high quality
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fine — a penalty

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