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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. plane — a tool
  4. clip — for paper
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. saw — the tool
  7. file — a tool
  8. row — to paddle
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. squash — to crush
  11. saw — the tool
  12. file — a line of people
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — to get on
  15. squash — the sport
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. row — a line
  19. clip — to cut
  20. board — a committee
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. clip — a video
  23. chair — a leader
  24. file — a document

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