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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. drill — army training
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — a short time
  5. chair — a leader
  6. track — a song
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. clip — to cut
  12. drill — a practice
  13. track — to keep track
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. clip — a video
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. spell — letters
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. track — a path
  22. drill — the tool
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. shower — rain

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