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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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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: safe · board · band · clip · game · tear · firm · swing

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. firm — decided
  4. game — a match
  5. band — a ring
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. clip — to cut
  8. game — wild animals
  9. firm — steady
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. tear — from crying
  12. swing — music
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. clip — for paper
  15. tear — to rip
  16. swing — in golf
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a committee
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. firm — a company
  21. band — a music group
  22. tear — from crying
  23. swing — to play on
  24. clip — a video

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