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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. clip — for paper
  4. chair — a leader
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. staff — employees
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — a group
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — a stick
  16. squash — to crush
  17. press — newspapers
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. press — to push
  21. sharp — clever
  22. press — a publisher
  23. squash — the sport
  24. sharp — with an edge

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