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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — certain
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. clip — a video
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. degree — an amount
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. board — a committee
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mate — a partner
  16. clip — to cut
  17. degree — from a university
  18. board — to get on
  19. bat — the animal
  20. mate — to breed
  21. degree — temperature
  22. mate — a friend
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bound — tied together

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