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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. last — final
  3. kick — in football
  4. game — a match
  5. game — wild animals
  6. clip — a video
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. clip — for paper
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. lean — to bend
  13. club — for dancing
  14. board — a committee
  15. club — a group
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. last — to go on
  18. clip — to cut
  19. board — to get on
  20. last — finally
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. lean — thin
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. club — for golf

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