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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. clip — a video
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. land — ground
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. land — to come down
  7. clip — to cut
  8. charge — electricity
  9. firm — steady
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — in music
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. firm — decided
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. fork — in a road
  16. bass — the fish
  17. charge — in control
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. charge — a price
  20. firm — a company
  21. bass — low music
  22. key — for a lock
  23. land — a country
  24. clip — for paper

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