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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. drill — army training
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cell — a phone
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wound — an injury
  9. clip — a video
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. perch — the fish
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wound — an injury
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cell — in biology
  21. fork — in a road
  22. drill — the tool
  23. board — a committee
  24. wake — before a funeral

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