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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 116 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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. clip — for paper
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. clip — to cut
  7. board — a committee
  8. branch — a division
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. clip — a video
  13. perch — the fish
  14. capital — money
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. game — wild animals
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. charge — electricity
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. capital — a city
  21. charge — a price
  22. game — a match
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. charge — in control

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