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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 came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. clip — a video
  3. scale — size or range
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. cell — a phone
  14. scale — in music
  15. spring — the season
  16. cell — in biology
  17. clip — to cut
  18. spring — a coil
  19. clip — for paper
  20. board — a committee
  21. spring — of water
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. fall — the season

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