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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 116 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bat — the animal
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. last — to go on
  5. chair — a leader
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. content — the amount
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. last — finally
  13. staff — employees
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. content — happy
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. band — a music group
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. last — final

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