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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. tube — the underground
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. ground — a position
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. chair — a leader
  10. row — a line
  11. ground — crushed
  12. tube — a container
  13. last — to go on
  14. wake — a trail
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. last — final
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ground — the earth
  20. chest — a box
  21. row — to paddle
  22. last — finally
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. chest — of your body

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