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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. squash — the sport
  3. mark — a trace
  4. bulb — for light
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. clip — to cut
  9. capital — money
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bulb — for light
  12. capital — a city
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. squash — to crush
  17. cue — a hint
  18. mark — a grade
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cue — a signal
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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