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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. march — the month
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. hand — help
  9. march — the month
  10. chair — a leader
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. last — finally
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. snap — to click
  20. march — music
  21. last — final
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. fan — a supporter

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