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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. date — the fruit
  7. bank — for money
  8. content — the amount
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. content — happy
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bank — of a river
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bank — for money
  24. vault — a safe

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