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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. board — to get on
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. clip — to cut
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. land — a country
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. plane — a tool
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. clip — for paper
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. drill — a practice
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. drill — the tool
  20. board — a committee
  21. clip — a video
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. drill — army training

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