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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. board — a committee
  3. clip — for paper
  4. lie — to recline
  5. land — ground
  6. clip — a video
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. board — to get on
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. land — a country
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. last — final
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. toast — bread
  23. hand — help
  24. land — to come down

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