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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. clip — for paper
  4. current — of water
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. chest — a box
  8. clip — a video
  9. stand — to bear
  10. pop — to visit
  11. key — for a lock
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pop — soda
  15. key — in music
  16. pop — music
  17. current — happening now
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. current — electric
  23. key — the most important part
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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