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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. can — to be able to
  5. firm — steady
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. craft — boats
  8. firm — a company
  9. perch — the fish
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. can — a tin
  15. chest — a box
  16. firm — decided
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. clip — to cut
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chest — of your body
  21. date — the fruit
  22. can — a tin
  23. craft — a skill
  24. perch — for a bird

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