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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. firm — a company
  3. board — a committee
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. board — to get on
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cold — an illness
  9. current — happening now
  10. clip — to cut
  11. firm — steady
  12. clip — a video
  13. wind — moving air
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. current — of water
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. clip — for paper
  19. current — electric
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. firm — decided
  24. wind — moving air

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