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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. firm — decided
  4. chair — a leader
  5. capital — a city
  6. can — a tin
  7. firm — steady
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bass — low music
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. firm — a company
  12. capital — money
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. can — a tin
  16. bass — the fish
  17. can — to be able to
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bark — to shout

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