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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. spell — magic
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. clip — to cut
  7. band — a ring
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. key — in music
  11. cell — a phone
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. band — a music group
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. clip — a video
  17. spell — a short time
  18. chair — a leader
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. key — the most important part
  21. cell — in biology
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. key — for a lock
  24. spell — letters

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