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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. net — after costs
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. season — of the year
  7. rock — a stone
  8. ground — crushed
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. ground — the earth
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. ground — a position
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. rock — music
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. last — to go on
  18. mine — for digging
  19. season — in sport
  20. last — final
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. last — finally
  24. jam — a tight spot

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