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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. object — to protest
  3. staff — a stick
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. object — an aim
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rock — music
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. staff — employees
  15. rock — a stone
  16. wind — moving air
  17. staff — employees
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. chip — to eat
  22. object — a thing
  23. bark — to shout
  24. chip — for betting

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