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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. suit — clothes
  6. last — finally
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. file — a tool
  9. last — to go on
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. suit — in cards
  12. season — in sport
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bass — low music
  15. capital — a city
  16. season — of the year
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bass — the fish
  20. file — a document
  21. bat — the animal
  22. suit — to fit
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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