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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 124 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. clip — a video
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. vault — a safe
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. clip — to cut
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. clip — for paper
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. game — a match
  17. game — wild animals
  18. stem — to come from
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. jam — in traffic

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