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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. last — finally
  3. mark — a trace
  4. season — of the year
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. chair — a leader
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. season — in sport
  13. fork — in a road
  14. mark — a grade
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. last — to go on
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. last — final
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — for digging
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. chair — a professorship

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