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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. land — ground
  3. object — to protest
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. land — to come down
  7. last — final
  8. row — a line
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. object — an aim
  12. object — a thing
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. chair — a leader
  15. sharp — clever
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. row — to paddle
  22. land — a country
  23. last — to go on
  24. nail — for a hammer

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