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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 124 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. track — a song
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cue — for pool
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. cue — a hint
  9. track — a path
  10. track — to keep track
  11. cue — a signal
  12. clip — a video
  13. present — the time now
  14. clip — for paper
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. wind — moving air
  17. present — a gift
  18. board — a committee
  19. clip — to cut
  20. toast — bread
  21. board — to get on
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wind — to turn a key

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