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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. clip — a video
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. degree — from a university
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. band — a music group
  8. clip — to cut
  9. degree — an amount
  10. key — in music
  11. suit — clothes
  12. craft — a skill
  13. suit — to fit
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. suit — in cards
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. craft — boats
  18. chair — a leader
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — the most important part
  21. degree — temperature
  22. clip — for paper
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a rubber band

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