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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  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. chair — a professorship
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. swing — to play on
  6. chair — a leader
  7. swing — music
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. drill — the tool
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. content — happy
  14. last — final
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. drill — army training
  19. content — the amount
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. last — to go on
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. last — finally
  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