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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 116 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. last — final
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for golf
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. file — a tool
  7. last — to go on
  8. deal — to handle
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. file — a document
  11. capital — money
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. capital — a city
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — a weight
  17. club — for dancing
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — a leader
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. last — finally
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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