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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. board — a committee
  3. clip — for paper
  4. kick — in football
  5. clip — to cut
  6. board — to get on
  7. hand — in cards
  8. clip — a video
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. staff — a stick
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. tear — to rip

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