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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: board · key · clip · hand · kid · ground

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. clip — a video
  5. hand — in cards
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — for a lock
  8. board — a committee
  9. clip — to cut
  10. board — to get on
  11. key — in music
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. ground — the earth
  14. kid — child
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. clip — for paper

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