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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. fine — all right
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. clip — to cut
  5. key — for a lock
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. fine — high quality
  8. key — the most important part
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. net — for catching
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bat — the animal
  13. clip — a video
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. net — after costs
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. net — in sport
  19. key — in music
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. board — to get on
  23. board — a committee
  24. straw — dry grass

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