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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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Word bank
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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 · drill · temple · clip · mark · row · track · present

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. clip — a video
  3. mark — a grade
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. present — a gift
  6. drill — army training
  7. clip — to cut
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. drill — a practice
  10. row — a line
  11. track — a path
  12. row — to paddle
  13. track — a song
  14. drill — the tool
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a trace
  17. present — the time now
  18. clip — for paper
  19. present — there
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. chair — a leader
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. track — to keep track
  24. temple — side of the head

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