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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 120 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. board — a committee
  5. bear — the animal
  6. clip — for paper
  7. board — to get on
  8. kid — child
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. clip — a video
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. mark — a trace
  15. scale — size or range
  16. clip — to cut
  17. scale — in music
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. kid — to tease
  22. wound — an injury
  23. prune — to trim
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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