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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 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. kid — to tease
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. clip — a video
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. kid — child
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. vault — a safe
  15. chair — a leader
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. vault — in gymnastics

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