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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. season — in sport
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. toast — bread
  9. firm — a company
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. season — of the year
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. firm — steady
  14. kid — child
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rock — music
  17. firm — decided
  18. clip — a video
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. rock — a stone
  24. kid — to tease

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