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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bass — the fish
  6. spring — the season
  7. last — to go on
  8. vault — a safe
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. row — to paddle
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bass — low music
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. last — final
  16. prune — to trim
  17. row — a line
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. chair — a leader
  20. spring — of water
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. spring — a coil
  24. prune — to trim

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