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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  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 professorship
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — for money
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. staff — a stick
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. staff — employees
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. staff — employees
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. kid — child
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cold — not warm
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. chair — a leader
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bank — of a river
  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