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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. roll — a list
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. bass — the fish
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bark — to shout
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bass — low music
  13. cell — a phone
  14. roll — a cake
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. cell — in biology
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. squash — the sport
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. bass — the instrument

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