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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: cell · chair · clip · stick · bat · bulb · safe · board

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bulb — for light
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. clip — for paper
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bat — the animal
  13. board — to get on
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cell — in biology
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. clip — a video
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bulb — for light
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. board — a committee

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