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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rule — government
  5. cell — a phone
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. tear — to rip
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bound — certain
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bound — tied together
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rule — a law
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bound — obliged
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. tear — from crying
  18. chair — a leader

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