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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: board · cold · present · clip · tear · bore · mouse · chair

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — to get on
  3. present — the time now
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. bore — to tire
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cold — not warm
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. chair — a leader
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cold — an illness
  16. clip — a video
  17. present — there
  18. present — a gift
  19. tear — from crying
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bore — to drill
  24. mouse — the animal

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