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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. charge — in control
  3. spring — a coil
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. board — to get on
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. charge — a price
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. board — a committee
  14. charge — electricity
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. prune — to trim
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. spring — the season
  21. clip — for paper
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. spring — of water

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