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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. chair — a leader
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. track — a song
  6. scale — size or range
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. track — a path
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. spell — a short time
  11. saw — the tool
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — magic
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. scale — in music
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. track — to keep track
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. mine — for digging

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