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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. last — final
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. swing — in golf
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. last — finally
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. sharp — clever
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. chip — to eat
  15. last — to go on
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — all right
  19. chair — a leader
  20. swing — music
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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