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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: present · board · deal · mouse · foot · craft · clip · kid

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  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 flat piece
  2. board — to get on
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. deal — to handle
  5. board — a committee
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. craft — boats
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. present — a gift
  11. kid — child
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. foot — a measure
  14. craft — a skill
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. clip — to cut
  22. kid — to tease
  23. deal — a big deal
  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