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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. object — to protest
  3. present — there
  4. object — a thing
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. present — a gift
  7. object — an aim
  8. saw — the tool
  9. last — to go on
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. saw — the tool
  12. last — finally
  13. present — the time now
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. last — final
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. capital — money
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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