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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. clip — to cut
  3. suit — in cards
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — to crush
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. squash — the sport
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. scale — size or range
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. clip — a video
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in biology
  20. suit — to fit
  21. suit — clothes
  22. scale — in music
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bowl — a dish

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