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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: wound · board · clip · object · racket · row · current · plane

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. current — electric
  3. wound — an injury
  4. object — an aim
  5. board — to get on
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — for paper
  12. row — to paddle
  13. board — a committee
  14. clip — a video
  15. current — happening now
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. object — a thing
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. row — a line
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. current — of water
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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