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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bore — to tire
  6. kid — child
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. kid — to tease
  13. clip — to cut
  14. ground — the earth
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. season — in sport
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. clip — for paper
  21. plane — a tool
  22. season — of the year
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. clip — a video

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