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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. perch — the fish
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pass — a permit
  7. dip — to sink
  8. ground — a position
  9. land — ground
  10. last — finally
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — a country
  18. last — to go on
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — the earth
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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