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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. last — final
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. last — to go on
  6. staff — a stick
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. track — to keep track
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. staff — employees
  11. track — a path
  12. fall — the season
  13. last — finally
  14. sharp — clever
  15. rule — a law
  16. fall — to drop
  17. track — a song
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. rule — government
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. fall — to drop
  24. staff — employees

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