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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. fork — in a road
  3. firm — steady
  4. spring — the season
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. roll — a cake
  10. game — wild animals
  11. spring — a coil
  12. chair — a leader
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. date — the fruit
  16. firm — decided
  17. game — a match
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. spring — of water
  21. band — a music group
  22. firm — a company
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a rubber band

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