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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pit — a hole
  3. swing — in golf
  4. chair — a leader
  5. ground — crushed
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. pit — in a race
  12. swing — music
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. swing — to play on
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pound — a weight
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — the earth

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