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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. row — to paddle
  3. clip — to cut
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. board — to get on
  6. bore — to drill
  7. board — a committee
  8. row — a line
  9. bore — to tire
  10. scale — in music
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. staff — a stick
  13. staff — employees
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. clip — a video
  17. scale — size or range
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. sharp — clever
  24. staff — employees

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