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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 116 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a line
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. staff — a stick
  8. can — a tin
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. can — to be able to
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. staff — employees
  17. content — the amount
  18. clip — to cut
  19. content — happy
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. staff — employees
  24. can — a tin

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