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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. bound — obliged
  4. present — there
  5. pitch — completely
  6. board — to get on
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. clip — for paper
  9. present — a gift
  10. bound — certain
  11. row — a line
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fine — all right
  14. field — for sport
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. clip — a video
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. present — the time now
  20. field — a subject
  21. board — a committee
  22. field — farmland
  23. bound — tied together
  24. row — to paddle

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