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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. plane — a tool
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mate — a partner
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. clip — a video
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. race — a contest
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — a thing
  13. race — the arms race
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. mate — a friend
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. bat — the animal
  21. clip — for paper
  22. race — humankind
  23. shower — to wash
  24. object — an aim

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