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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. mate — to breed
  5. hand — in cards
  6. charge — electricity
  7. club — a group
  8. clip — a video
  9. charge — a price
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. chip — to eat
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. mate — a friend
  14. chip — for betting
  15. hand — help
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mate — a partner
  18. clip — to cut
  19. club — for dancing
  20. chair — a leader
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. charge — in control
  24. club — for golf

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