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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. spring — a coil
  5. staff — a stick
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. vault — a safe
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. rule — government
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. clip — for paper
  12. charge — a price
  13. spring — of water
  14. charge — electricity
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. clip — a video
  18. staff — employees
  19. rule — a law
  20. spring — the season
  21. staff — employees
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. chair — a leader
  24. charge — in control

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