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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. clip — a video
  3. rock — music
  4. board — a committee
  5. clip — to cut
  6. tear — from crying
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pitch — completely
  10. court — of law
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. court — of a king
  13. tear — from crying
  14. board — to get on
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. rock — a stone
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — thin
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pitch — a sports field

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