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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 124 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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. chair — a leader
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. foot — a measure
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. clip — for paper
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. chair — to sit on

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