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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. tube — a container
  3. last — finally
  4. rock — music
  5. ball — a great time
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bulb — for light
  8. last — final
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. ball — a dance
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. tube — the underground
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. last — to go on
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. rock — a stone

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