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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 124 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. chest — a box
  4. cap — of ice
  5. row — to paddle
  6. clip — to cut
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. court — of law
  10. row — a line
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. clip — for paper
  14. court — for sport
  15. cap — a hat
  16. clip — a video
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. chest — of your body
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. court — of a king
  24. bowl — a football final

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