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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: rest · clip · firm · mark · wind · face · rule · chair

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. firm — a company
  7. face — to confront
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. clip — to cut
  11. rule — government
  12. rest — a break
  13. rule — a law
  14. face — to point toward
  15. mark — a trace
  16. firm — decided
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. clip — a video
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. mark — a grade
  22. face — part of the head
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. firm — steady

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