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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. file — a line of people
  3. staff — employees
  4. chair — a leader
  5. staff — employees
  6. current — happening now
  7. roll — a list
  8. spell — magic
  9. pop — soda
  10. current — of water
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. pop — music
  14. staff — a stick
  15. pop — to visit
  16. spell — letters
  17. current — electric
  18. spell — a short time
  19. file — a document
  20. roll — a cake
  21. clip — a video
  22. file — a tool
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. roll — on a roll

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