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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. spell — magic
  3. last — finally
  4. fine — high quality
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bass — low music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. last — final
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bass — the fish
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. last — to go on
  18. land — a country
  19. fine — all right
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. spell — letters
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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