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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stand — to bear
  5. row — a line
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. board — a committee
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bank — of a river
  12. board — to get on
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. row — to paddle
  17. clip — a video
  18. bank — for money
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bank — for money
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. board — a flat piece

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