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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 120 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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. scale — size or range
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. squash — to crush
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — low music
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. cell — a phone
  12. staff — employees
  13. chair — a leader
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. squash — the sport
  16. clip — a video
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. staff — employees
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. scale — in music

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