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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 116 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. land — a country
  3. track — to keep track
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. craft — boats
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. clip — a video
  10. track — a song
  11. land — to come down
  12. track — a path
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. craft — a skill
  16. land — ground
  17. clip — for paper
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. rest — a break
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pass — a permit
  24. rest — what's left

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