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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. charge — in control
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pit — in a race
  5. staff — employees
  6. capital — money
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. clip — for paper
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. capital — a city
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. charge — a price
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — a video
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. staff — a stick
  22. wound — an injury
  23. staff — employees
  24. charge — electricity

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