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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. rule — government
  3. pit — a hole
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. present — there
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pit — in a race
  11. deal — to handle
  12. clip — to cut
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. object — an aim
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. rule — a law
  17. clip — a video
  18. object — to protest
  19. object — a thing
  20. wound — an injury
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. present — the time now

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