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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. track — a path
  5. bat — the animal
  6. track — to keep track
  7. firm — steady
  8. track — a song
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. chair — a leader
  11. firm — a company
  12. rest — a break
  13. last — final
  14. season — of the year
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — finally
  17. season — in sport
  18. firm — decided
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. rest — what's left

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