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

Word bank: club · arm · wake · land · bowl · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. land — to come down
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. land — a country
  10. club — a group
  11. land — ground
  12. club — for dancing
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. chair — a leader
  17. club — for golf
  18. arm — a part of something

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