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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. cold — an illness
  3. board — to get on
  4. root — of a word
  5. clip — a video
  6. cold — not warm
  7. clip — for paper
  8. board — a committee
  9. lean — thin
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. net — after costs
  13. clip — to cut
  14. dip — to sink
  15. lean — to bend
  16. root — the cause
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. net — in sport
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. root — of a plant
  24. board — a flat piece

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