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

Word bank: lean · clip · board · cold · ruler · racket · last · safe

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. cold — not warm
  3. board — to get on
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. lean — thin
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. last — final
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. last — to go on
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. clip — for paper
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. lean — to bend
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. cold — an illness
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. last — finally
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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