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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: last · fine · bark · racket · board · clip

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bark — to shout
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. fine — all right
  5. last — final
  6. board — a committee
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. clip — a video
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. last — to go on
  15. clip — for paper
  16. last — finally
  17. board — to get on
  18. racket — for tennis

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