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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. hand — in cards
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. last — finally
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. plane — a tool
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. chair — a leader
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pit — a hole
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pit — in a race
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. game — a match
  21. hand — help
  22. stem — to come from
  23. game — wild animals
  24. last — to go on

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