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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: race · deal · clip · lie · hand · net · date · chair

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. clip — for paper
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. deal — to handle
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. clip — a video
  8. race — humankind
  9. hand — help
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. clip — to cut
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — a contest
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — after costs
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. date — the fruit
  24. chair — a leader

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