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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. fine — all right
  3. mate — a friend
  4. net — after costs
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. net — in sport
  7. squash — to crush
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. fine — high quality
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. chair — a leader
  19. mate — to breed
  20. fork — in a road
  21. squash — the sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. mate — a partner
  24. stand — to bear

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