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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. suit — to fit
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. clip — a video
  5. land — to come down
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. clip — to cut
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. chair — a leader
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. suit — clothes
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pound — a weight
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. clip — for paper
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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