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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. object — a thing
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. craft — boats
  5. clip — a video
  6. object — to protest
  7. chair — a leader
  8. object — an aim
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. wound — an injury
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. rest — a break
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. craft — a skill
  17. rest — what's left
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. bear — the animal
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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