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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. saw — the tool
  4. roll — a cake
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. pit — a hole
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. last — final
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. last — to go on
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. wake — a trail
  15. last — finally
  16. pit — in a race
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. saw — the tool
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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