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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. clip — for paper
  3. club — for dancing
  4. content — the amount
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cell — a phone
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. stem — to come from
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. clip — a video
  14. content — happy
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. club — a group
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. clip — to cut
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. club — for golf

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