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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. clip — a video
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. capital — money
  10. chair — a leader
  11. kick — in football
  12. cell — in biology
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mark — a grade
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. roll — a cake
  17. cell — a phone
  18. roll — a list
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — for paper
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. capital — a city

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