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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. band — a ring
  3. clip — a video
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. clip — for paper
  6. file — a line of people
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. file — a document
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. file — a tool
  11. mate — to breed
  12. board — a committee
  13. pop — to visit
  14. mate — a friend
  15. pop — soda
  16. mate — a partner
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. clip — to cut
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. season — in sport
  21. pop — music
  22. season — of the year
  23. band — a music group
  24. board — to get on

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