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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. craft — boats
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. clip — to cut
  5. rush — hurry
  6. craft — a skill
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. cell — in biology
  9. board — to get on
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. clip — for paper
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. present — the time now
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chip — for betting
  16. clip — a video
  17. cell — a phone
  18. present — there
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. chair — a leader
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. present — a gift
  23. board — a committee
  24. rush — a thrill

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