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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bank — of a river
  4. chair — a leader
  5. staff — employees
  6. court — of a king
  7. staff — employees
  8. court — of law
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. court — for sport
  12. pit — a hole
  13. mine — for digging
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bank — for money
  18. pit — in a race
  19. staff — a stick
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bank — for money

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