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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bat — the animal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. clip — for paper
  7. mug — to rob
  8. court — for sport
  9. rule — a law
  10. court — of a king
  11. mug — a face
  12. object — an aim
  13. chair — a leader
  14. object — a thing
  15. mug — a cup
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. clip — a video
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. rule — government
  20. perch — the fish
  21. clip — to cut
  22. object — to protest
  23. court — of law
  24. perch — for a bird

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