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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: swing · rule · stem · chair · court · stick · saw · clip

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  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. rule — a law
  2. clip — to cut
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. swing — in golf
  5. court — of a king
  6. stem — to come from
  7. swing — music
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. chair — a leader
  10. court — for sport
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. swing — to play on
  16. saw — the tool
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rule — government
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. court — of law
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stem — of a plant
  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