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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. clip — to cut
  3. can — to be able to
  4. cold — an illness
  5. plane — a tool
  6. clip — a video
  7. game — wild animals
  8. can — a tin
  9. board — a committee
  10. game — a match
  11. board — to get on
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. clip — for paper
  15. can — a tin
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. firm — steady
  19. firm — a company
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cold — not warm

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