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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. present — there
  3. swing — to play on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. band — a ring
  6. swing — music
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. present — a gift
  10. rule — government
  11. chair — a leader
  12. rule — a law
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. swing — in golf
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bear — the animal
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. present — the time now
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. last — finally
  23. last — final
  24. band — a music group

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