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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. clip — for paper
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. clip — to cut
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. board — a committee
  7. net — in sport
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. board — to get on
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. cold — an illness
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. cold — not warm
  15. net — for catching
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — happy
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. clip — a video
  24. net — after costs

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