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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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Word bank
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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. scale — size or range
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. lie — to recline
  8. land — to come down
  9. spell — magic
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. land — ground
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. spell — a short time
  15. fine — all right
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. mine — for digging
  19. spell — letters
  20. scale — in music
  21. fine — high quality
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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