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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. clip — to cut
  3. spell — letters
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. drill — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. content — happy
  9. drill — army training
  10. spell — a short time
  11. root — of a word
  12. content — the amount
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — completely
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. clip — a video
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — the cause
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. spell — magic
  22. drill — a practice
  23. clip — for paper
  24. board — to get on

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