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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bass — the fish
  3. spell — a short time
  4. band — a ring
  5. spell — letters
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. spell — magic
  12. lean — thin
  13. last — final
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. band — a music group
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bass — low music
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. last — to go on
  22. hand — in cards
  23. lean — to bend
  24. bass — the instrument

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