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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. land — a country
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. land — to come down
  8. pass — a permit
  9. wax — to grow
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. clip — for paper
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. kick — in football
  14. land — ground
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. clip — a video
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. clip — to cut
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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