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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. pitch — completely
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. hand — help
  5. kid — child
  6. bear — the animal
  7. spell — magic
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. clip — a video
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. spell — a short time
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. hand — in cards
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. kid — to tease
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. spell — letters
  24. bear — the animal

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