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

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. last — finally
  4. kid — to tease
  5. net — after costs
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. track — a song
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. track — a path
  12. net — in sport
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. last — to go on
  16. chair — a leader
  17. last — final
  18. track — to keep track

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