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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.

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: cabinet · face · clip · present · march · suit · chair · tube

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. suit — in cards
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. face — to point toward
  5. clip — a video
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. tube — a container
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. suit — clothes
  10. march — the month
  11. tube — the underground
  12. present — the time now
  13. suit — to fit
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. present — a gift
  16. clip — to cut
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. present — there
  19. chair — a leader
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. march — music
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. march — the month

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