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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bank — for money
  3. present — a gift
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bank — for money
  6. staff — employees
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bank — of a river
  9. staff — employees
  10. clip — to cut
  11. tear — from crying
  12. clip — for paper
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. clip — a video
  15. present — the time now
  16. staff — a stick
  17. present — there
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. snap — to click
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. degree — an amount

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