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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bound — tied together
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. clip — a video
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bound — certain
  8. swing — music
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. clip — for paper
  11. swing — in golf
  12. face — part of the head
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bound — obliged
  16. face — to confront
  17. clip — to cut
  18. temple — a place of worship

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