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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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. clip — to cut
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. clip — a video
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. track — to keep track
  8. spell — letters
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. spell — magic
  12. track — a path
  13. track — a song
  14. clip — for paper
  15. capital — a city
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. board — to get on
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. spell — a short time
  22. capital — money
  23. dip — to sink
  24. arm — part of the body

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