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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. chair — a leader
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. net — for catching
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. track — a path
  10. track — to keep track
  11. sharp — clever
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. track — a song
  14. net — after costs
  15. game — a match
  16. last — final
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. plane — a tool
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. net — in sport
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — wild animals

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