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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 124 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. last — finally
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. present — the time now
  11. lean — thin
  12. chair — a leader
  13. last — to go on
  14. present — there
  15. cold — an illness
  16. present — a gift
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. lean — to bend
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. fan — a supporter

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