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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. stock — goods
  7. chair — a leader
  8. prune — to trim
  9. clip — to cut
  10. ball — a dance
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ball — a great time
  13. clip — a video
  14. rule — government
  15. firm — steady
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. rule — a law
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. firm — decided
  20. stock — shares
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. clip — for paper
  24. firm — a company

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