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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. clip — a video
  4. chair — a leader
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. race — a contest
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. race — humankind
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. net — for catching
  16. stem — to come from
  17. craft — a skill
  18. clip — for paper
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. race — the arms race
  21. craft — boats
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to click
  24. coach — a trainer

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