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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. clip — to cut
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bass — the fish
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. board — to get on
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. clip — a video
  13. field — a subject
  14. rash — a series
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. field — for sport
  20. rash — hasty
  21. field — farmland
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. clip — for paper
  24. toast — bread

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