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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. kid — child
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — the cause
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. clip — for paper
  13. pass — a permit
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. firm — decided
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. clip — to cut
  19. tube — the underground
  20. firm — steady
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. clip — a video
  23. tube — a container
  24. root — of a plant

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