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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. rock — music
  3. bat — the animal
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. vault — a safe
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. rock — a stone
  14. craft — boats
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. last — final
  19. last — finally
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. last — to go 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