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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. last — to go on
  4. bear — the animal
  5. fall — the season
  6. tube — the underground
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. last — final
  10. fall — to drop
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. track — a path
  13. wound — an injury
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. tube — a container
  17. fall — to drop
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. track — a song
  22. bear — the animal
  23. last — finally
  24. track — to keep track

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