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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. clip — to cut
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pop — soda
  5. present — a gift
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. field — for sport
  10. firm — a company
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. field — a subject
  13. clip — a video
  14. cap — a hat
  15. firm — steady
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — a tool
  18. present — there
  19. present — the time now
  20. field — farmland
  21. pop — to visit
  22. chair — a leader
  23. clip — for paper
  24. firm — decided

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