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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. plane — a tool
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. pitch — completely
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. roll — a list
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. wax — to grow
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. mine — for digging
  24. roll — a cake

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