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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bound — tied together
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bound — certain
  9. hand — help
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bound — obliged
  12. clip — a video
  13. race — a contest
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. race — the arms race
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. clip — to cut
  19. plane — a tool
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pit — in a race
  23. race — humankind
  24. chair — a professorship

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