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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. net — for catching
  4. spell — a short time
  5. last — to go on
  6. net — after costs
  7. last — final
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. club — for golf
  11. deal — to handle
  12. net — in sport
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. chair — a leader
  16. spell — magic
  17. last — finally
  18. deal — an agreement

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