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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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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: bank · present · bore · key · chair · clip · leaves · rule

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. key — the most important part
  3. present — a gift
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — for money
  6. bore — to tire
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. key — in music
  9. rule — a law
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. rule — government
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — there
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bank — of a river
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. chair — a leader
  22. clip — a video
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. key — for a lock

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