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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 116 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. board — a committee
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. clip — to cut
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. board — to get on
  9. race — a contest
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. race — the arms race
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. net — in sport
  14. wake — a trail
  15. club — for golf
  16. race — humankind
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. club — a group
  19. clip — for paper
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a great time
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — after costs
  24. clip — a video

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