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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. ground — a position
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. ground — the earth
  6. court — of a king
  7. ground — crushed
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. court — for sport
  11. mark — a grade
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mark — a trace
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. pass — a permit
  20. chair — a leader
  21. court — of law
  22. last — final
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. band — a ring

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