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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. club — for dancing
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. spell — letters
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. chair — a leader
  11. club — a group
  12. mark — a grade
  13. pit — in a race
  14. spell — a short time
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pit — a hole
  18. file — a document
  19. mark — a trace
  20. file — a tool
  21. club — for golf
  22. spell — magic
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. file — a line of people

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