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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. court — of a king
  5. race — the arms race
  6. clip — a video
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. chair — a leader
  9. clip — to cut
  10. suit — in cards
  11. suit — to fit
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. board — to get on
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. clip — for paper
  16. court — for sport
  17. board — a committee
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. court — of law
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. suit — clothes
  24. nail — for a hammer

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