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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 124 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. chair — a leader
  3. mug — to rob
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. stem — to come from
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. mug — a face
  8. kid — to tease
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bear — the animal
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. clip — a video
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — a country
  18. kid — child
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bear — the animal
  23. rush — hurry
  24. mug — a cup

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