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

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. last — finally
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. ground — a position
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. ground — the earth
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. last — final
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bore — to tire
  14. capital — a city
  15. file — a line of people
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. file — a tool
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. file — a document
  20. capital — money
  21. bass — the fish
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bore — to drill
  24. last — to go on

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