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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. last — finally
  7. last — final
  8. chair — a leader
  9. mark — a trace
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. mark — a grade
  13. last — to go on
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. kid — child
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. craft — boats
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — a skill

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