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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. mine — for digging
  4. present — there
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. bass — low music
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. present — a gift
  11. clip — to cut
  12. plane — a tool
  13. band — a ring
  14. board — to get on
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pit — a hole
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. clip — a video
  19. band — a music group
  20. bass — the fish
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. pit — in a race
  23. present — the time now
  24. board — a committee

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