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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. board — a committee
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wake — a trail
  13. bass — the fish
  14. saw — the tool
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. season — in sport
  18. board — to get on
  19. season — of the year
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. bass — low music
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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