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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. last — final
  4. present — the time now
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. spring — a coil
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. shower — to wash
  9. fine — all right
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. chair — a leader
  13. fine — high quality
  14. present — there
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. last — to go on
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. present — a gift
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. spring — of water
  21. last — finally
  22. spring — the season
  23. pass — a permit
  24. shower — rain

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