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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: firm · hide · fall · race · clip · chair

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. race — humankind
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. clip — for paper
  6. firm — decided
  7. fall — to drop
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. firm — a company
  11. race — the arms race
  12. fall — the season
  13. clip — a video
  14. chair — a leader
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. race — a contest
  17. firm — steady
  18. fall — to drop

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