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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 is an ace ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. land — ground
  3. present — a gift
  4. ball — a dance
  5. present — the time now
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. land — a country
  10. land — to come down
  11. ball — a great time
  12. squash — to crush
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. squash — the sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bass — low music
  19. chair — a leader
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. present — there
  23. bass — the fish
  24. pitcher — a jug

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