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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. staff — employees
  7. last — finally
  8. staff — employees
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. rest — what's left
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. game — a match
  16. game — wild animals
  17. hand — help
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. staff — a stick
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. last — final
  24. game — a kind of play

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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