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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 120 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: clip · leaves · lie · chest · chair · cue · present · mine

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. clip — a video
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. present — there
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. chair — a leader
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. chest — of your body
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cue — a signal
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cue — a hint
  21. present — a gift
  22. chest — of your body
  23. present — the time now
  24. cue — for pool

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