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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: clip · row · stick · rule · bat · root · chair · club

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. row — a line
  4. rule — a law
  5. root — the cause
  6. root — of a plant
  7. club — for dancing
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. root — of a word
  10. bat — the animal
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. rule — government
  13. clip — a video
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. clip — to cut
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. club — a group
  23. club — for golf
  24. row — a quarrel

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