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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stand — to bear
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. band — a music group
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. drill — army training
  19. clip — a video
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. band — a ring
  22. drill — a practice
  23. wound — an injury
  24. drill — the tool

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