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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. last — final
  5. board — to get on
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. last — to go on
  9. ball — a dance
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. ball — a great time
  15. last — finally
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — tied together
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — a grade
  21. board — a committee
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. clip — a video
  24. bound — obliged

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