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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. march — music
  3. present — there
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — hasty
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bass — the fish
  8. clip — for paper
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bass — low music
  14. charge — in control
  15. present — a gift
  16. clip — a video
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. hand — help
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. charge — electricity
  24. charge — a price

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