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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. clip — for paper
  5. saw — the tool
  6. chair — a leader
  7. clip — to cut
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. mate — a friend
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. game — a match
  17. stand — to bear
  18. clip — a video
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. mate — a partner
  21. saw — the tool
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — in football
  24. mate — to breed

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