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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 120 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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. court — for sport
  4. chair — a leader
  5. current — of water
  6. march — music
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bound — obliged
  9. clip — a video
  10. court — of a king
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. stem — to come from
  15. clip — for paper
  16. court — of law
  17. march — the month
  18. current — happening now
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bound — certain
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. current — electric
  24. march — the month

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