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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. present — there
  3. present — a gift
  4. sharp — clever
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. row — a line
  8. chair — a leader
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. march — the month
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — to eat
  13. clip — for paper
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. row — to paddle
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. present — the time now
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  24. leaves — of a tree

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