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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. chair — a leader
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. clip — for paper
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. present — there
  8. pop — music
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — to get on
  14. pop — to visit
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pop — soda
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. present — the time now

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