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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. last — to go on
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — in sport
  6. chair — a leader
  7. present — there
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. season — of the year
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bark — to shout
  14. scale — in music
  15. present — a gift
  16. scale — size or range
  17. last — final
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. present — the time now

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