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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. clip — to cut
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. clip — for paper
  7. chair — a leader
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bound — tied together
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. land — ground
  12. bound — obliged
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. land — to come down
  18. clip — a video
  19. kick — in football
  20. land — a country
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. sharp — clever
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bound — certain

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