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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. present — the time now
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. staff — employees
  6. kid — child
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. present — a gift
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. clip — to cut
  17. roll — a list
  18. present — there
  19. chair — a leader
  20. kid — to tease
  21. clip — a video
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. staff — a stick
  24. staff — employees

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