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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fork — in a road
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. swing — in golf
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. swing — music
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. last — to go on
  22. swing — to play on
  23. present — the time now
  24. capital — money

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