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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. present — the time now
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. tube — the underground
  6. present — there
  7. clip — to cut
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. present — a gift
  10. tear — from crying
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. clip — for paper
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. tear — to rip
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. tube — a container
  23. tear — from crying
  24. clip — a video

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