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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 · capital · bowl · bulb · suit · chair · cell · chest

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. clip — to cut
  3. suit — in cards
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. chest — of your body
  7. suit — clothes
  8. capital — money
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. capital — a city
  17. chest — a box
  18. bulb — for light
  19. suit — to fit
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bulb — for light
  24. clip — a video

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