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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. key — in music
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. wind — moving air
  7. key — the most important part
  8. ground — the earth
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. board — a committee
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wake — a trail
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wound — an injury
  19. key — for a lock
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. board — to get on
  24. wound — an injury

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