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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. chair — a leader
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. net — in sport
  13. bear — the animal
  14. net — for catching
  15. present — the time now
  16. bear — the animal
  17. present — a gift
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. clip — for paper
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. clip — a video
  22. net — after costs
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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