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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chair — a leader
  6. season — of the year
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. staff — a stick
  9. court — of a king
  10. staff — employees
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. staff — employees
  14. clip — a video
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. snap — to click
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. prune — to trim
  21. court — of law
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. court — for sport
  24. season — in sport

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