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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 116 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 · nail · fork · object · bay · cell · clip · row

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. board — a committee
  4. clip — a video
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cell — in biology
  12. object — an aim
  13. row — a line
  14. object — to protest
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. clip — to cut
  20. object — a thing
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. clip — for paper
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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