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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. game — a match
  3. last — to go on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. last — final
  7. chair — a leader
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. last — finally
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. swing — music
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chest — of your body
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. lie — to recline
  24. pitcher — a jug

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