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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 116 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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. clip — for paper
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rule — government
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. chair — a leader
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. clip — a video
  14. plane — a tool
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bound — obliged
  17. branch — a division
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. bound — certain
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. rule — a law
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. rule — to rule out

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