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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. band — a ring
  4. clip — for paper
  5. ball — a great time
  6. stock — goods
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. chair — a leader
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. clip — a video
  15. band — a music group
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. content — happy
  21. stock — shares
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. ball — a dance
  24. content — the amount

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