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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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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 · fork · rest · stand · chair · saw · pitcher · mine

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. rest — what's left
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. last — to go on
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stand — to bear
  15. last — final
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. rest — what's left
  18. last — finally
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rest — a break

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