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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. board — a committee
  3. last — finally
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. spell — letters
  8. last — final
  9. land — ground
  10. spell — magic
  11. plane — a tool
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. spell — a short time
  15. last — to go on
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. land — a country
  19. board — to get on
  20. bark — to shout
  21. saw — the tool
  22. chair — a leader
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. chair — to sit on

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