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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fall — to drop
  5. present — a gift
  6. wound — an injury
  7. present — there
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — to protest
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. present — the time now
  12. game — a match
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. pop — to visit
  16. object — an aim
  17. board — a committee
  18. game — wild animals
  19. fall — to drop
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. pop — soda
  23. fall — the season
  24. board — to get on

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