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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. file — a tool
  3. clip — for paper
  4. suit — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. file — a line of people
  9. clip — to cut
  10. suit — to fit
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. hand — in cards
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. chair — a leader
  16. clip — a video
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — a position
  20. suit — clothes
  21. pass — a permit
  22. file — a document
  23. ground — crushed
  24. pass — to succeed

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