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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. perch — the fish
  3. ball — a dance
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. last — to go on
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. last — final
  11. land — a country
  12. last — finally
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. band — a ring
  16. pitch — completely
  17. band — a music group
  18. chair — a leader
  19. land — ground
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. land — to come down
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. ball — a great time
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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