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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bound — certain
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bass — the fish
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. clip — a video
  11. cell — a phone
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bass — low music
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — tied together
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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