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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. clip — to cut
  6. firm — a company
  7. firm — steady
  8. kick — in football
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. clip — for paper
  15. deal — to handle
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. firm — decided
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. wind — moving air
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. clip — a video

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