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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. swing — to play on
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bound — certain
  5. chair — a leader
  6. saw — the tool
  7. swing — in golf
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. net — in sport
  10. fork — in a road
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. bound — obliged
  14. pit — in a race
  15. net — for catching
  16. bound — tied together
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. swing — music
  23. pit — a hole
  24. net — after costs

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