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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: last · tear · chair · mark · drill · present

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. present — a gift
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. drill — the tool
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. chair — a leader
  8. present — there
  9. last — final
  10. mark — a trace
  11. tear — from crying
  12. present — the time now
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. last — to go on
  15. drill — a practice
  16. mark — a grade
  17. tear — to rip
  18. drill — army training

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