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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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468
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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. game — wild animals
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. clip — for paper
  5. spring — a coil
  6. game — a match
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. fork — in a road
  14. spring — of water
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. clip — a video
  17. chair — a leader
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. mug — a face
  21. mug — a cup
  22. spring — the season
  23. pitch — completely
  24. clip — to cut

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