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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: chair · last · cap · clip · shower · foot · content · mate

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. foot — a measure
  4. cap — a hat
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cap — of ice
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cap — a lid
  10. mate — to breed
  11. content — the amount
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. shower — rain
  14. clip — a video
  15. last — final
  16. content — happy
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. last — finally
  19. mate — a friend
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. last — to go on
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mate — a partner
  24. chair — a leader

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