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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. board — a committee
  3. season — in sport
  4. branch — a division
  5. mate — a partner
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. clip — to cut
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a friend
  11. craft — a skill
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. snap — to click
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. clip — for paper
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. season — of the year
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. rash — a series
  23. board — to get on
  24. clip — a video

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