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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. suit — to fit
  6. content — the amount
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — in a race
  9. suit — clothes
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. suit — in cards
  12. last — final
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. saw — the tool
  15. content — happy
  16. fall — the season
  17. saw — the tool
  18. fall — to drop
  19. last — finally
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. rash — hasty
  23. last — to go on
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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