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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rock — a stone
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. cold — not warm
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. scale — in music
  13. rock — music
  14. scale — size or range
  15. chair — a leader
  16. capital — money
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. capital — a city
  19. object — to protest
  20. object — a thing
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cold — an illness
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. object — an aim

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