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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. saw — the tool
  3. present — there
  4. band — a music group
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. last — finally
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — a series
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. band — a ring
  18. plane — a tool
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. drill — army training
  21. present — the time now
  22. last — final
  23. saw — the tool
  24. present — a gift

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