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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. wound — an injury
  4. craft — boats
  5. clip — a video
  6. bound — certain
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rest — a break
  10. charge — in control
  11. bound — obliged
  12. charge — electricity
  13. craft — a skill
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. chair — a leader
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bound — tied together
  18. rest — what's left
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bat — the animal
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. charge — a price
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wound — an injury

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