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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. ground — crushed
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chest — of your body
  6. court — for sport
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. chair — a leader
  9. board — to get on
  10. court — of law
  11. plane — a tool
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. last — final
  16. last — finally
  17. ground — a position
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. chest — of your body
  20. board — a committee
  21. chest — a box
  22. ground — the earth
  23. court — of a king
  24. plane — in geometry

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