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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — a skill
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. bass — the fish
  7. clip — for paper
  8. present — the time now
  9. bass — low music
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. present — a gift
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mark — a trace
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. saw — the tool
  18. present — there
  19. clip — a video
  20. craft — boats
  21. clip — to cut
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. mark — to pay attention

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