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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. mug — to rob
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mug — a cup
  11. clip — for paper
  12. net — in sport
  13. land — a country
  14. net — for catching
  15. land — to come down
  16. mug — a face
  17. court — of a king
  18. land — ground
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. toast — bread
  22. net — after costs
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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