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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. clip — a video
  3. season — in sport
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. wind — moving air
  6. club — for golf
  7. board — to get on
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. board — a committee
  10. clip — for paper
  11. club — a group
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. club — for dancing
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. season — of the year
  16. clip — to cut
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — for sport
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. field — a subject
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. patient — a sick person

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