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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. clip — a video
  3. cap — a lid
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. row — to paddle
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. clip — for paper
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. row — a line
  16. clip — to cut
  17. spring — a coil
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. board — a committee
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. board — to get on
  22. cap — of ice
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. cap — a hat

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