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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — music
  4. last — to go on
  5. swing — in golf
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. chair — a leader
  8. track — a path
  9. last — finally
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — the tool
  12. shower — to wash
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — to visit
  16. track — a song
  17. drill — a practice
  18. track — to keep track
  19. row — a line
  20. pop — soda
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. shower — rain
  24. row — to paddle

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