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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  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. chair — a leader
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. clip — a video
  4. wound — an injury
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. kick — in football
  8. stem — to come from
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. clip — for paper
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. wound — an injury
  22. clip — to cut
  23. sharp — clever
  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