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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. last — final
  5. suit — in cards
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. last — to go on
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. season — of the year
  12. suit — to fit
  13. suit — clothes
  14. fork — in a road
  15. hand — help
  16. season — in sport
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. wound — an injury
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. hand — in cards
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. toast — bread

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