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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. tube — a container
  3. fall — to drop
  4. last — final
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. last — to go on
  7. fall — the season
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. court — of law
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. fall — to drop
  14. tube — the underground
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. chair — a leader
  24. last — finally

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