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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. vault — a safe
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. present — a gift
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. root — of a word
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. kid — child
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — to handle
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. root — of a plant
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. present — there
  19. root — the cause
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. clip — for paper
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. present — the time now

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