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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bay · clip · row · sharp · jam · chair · hand · bowl

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. clip — to cut
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. hand — help
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. chair — a leader
  10. clip — a video
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. hand — in cards
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. row — a line
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. row — to paddle

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