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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — music
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. land — to come down
  6. rock — a stone
  7. land — a country
  8. dip — to sink
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — in music
  14. fine — all right
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bound — obliged
  17. last — finally
  18. fine — high quality
  19. chair — a leader
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bound — tied together
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bound — certain
  24. scale — size or range

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