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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. pitch — completely
  7. mark — a trace
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. fine — high quality
  11. wax — to grow
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. mark — a grade
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. chair — a leader

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