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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 120 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. clip — to cut
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. suit — in cards
  9. bore — to drill
  10. face — to confront
  11. bore — to tire
  12. face — to point toward
  13. suit — clothes
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. clip — for paper
  16. suit — to fit
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. clip — a video
  24. face — part of the head

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