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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bank — of a river
  3. present — a gift
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chair — a leader
  6. clip — to cut
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. pit — a hole
  10. clip — for paper
  11. present — the time now
  12. bank — for money
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pit — in a race
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. bank — for money
  17. present — there
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. chip — for betting
  21. prune — to trim
  22. wind — moving air
  23. prune — to trim
  24. clip — a video

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