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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. mine — for digging
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. drill — army training
  5. season — of the year
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. drill — the tool
  9. ground — the earth
  10. saw — the tool
  11. deal — to handle
  12. drill — a practice
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. saw — the tool
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. season — in sport
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — crushed
  24. fan — a supporter

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