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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. board — to get on
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. clip — a video
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. board — a committee
  13. cap — of ice
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cap — a lid
  19. last — to go on
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. clip — to cut
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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