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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. perch — the fish
  3. land — a country
  4. club — a group
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. current — electric
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — a position
  10. land — ground
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a dance
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. club — for golf
  16. land — to come down
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. current — happening now
  20. ball — a great time
  21. club — for dancing
  22. current — of water
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. chair — to sit on

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