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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pass — a permit
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. board — a committee
  6. drill — the tool
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. spring — of water
  12. drill — army training
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. clip — a video
  16. spring — the season
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. kick — in football
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pitcher — a jug

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