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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 116 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. ground — the earth
  3. last — finally
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — wild animals
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. club — for golf
  12. game — a match
  13. drill — army training
  14. last — final
  15. season — in sport
  16. drill — the tool
  17. ground — crushed
  18. drill — a practice
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. club — a group
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. ground — a position
  23. last — to go on
  24. wake — a trail

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