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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. clip — a video
  5. board — a committee
  6. present — there
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. present — the time now
  10. rush — hurry
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. clip — to cut
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. board — to get on
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. present — a gift
  19. fork — in a road
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. mine — for digging
  24. rush — a thrill

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