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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fall — the season
  3. land — a country
  4. saw — the tool
  5. mate — a friend
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. mate — a partner
  10. last — to go on
  11. mate — to breed
  12. last — final
  13. mine — for digging
  14. swing — music
  15. last — finally
  16. fall — to drop
  17. land — to come down
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. saw — the tool
  20. land — ground
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. fall — to drop
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. swing — in golf

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