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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. charge — electricity
  5. firm — a company
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — to get on
  8. firm — steady
  9. clip — a video
  10. firm — decided
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. charge — a price
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. board — a committee
  17. wind — moving air
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. game — wild animals
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. clip — for paper
  22. charge — in control
  23. game — a match
  24. clip — to cut

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