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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: chair · fall · can · last · ball · jam · shower · clip

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. shower — rain
  3. ball — a dance
  4. last — finally
  5. clip — to cut
  6. can — a tin
  7. fall — to drop
  8. can — a tin
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. clip — for paper
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. last — final
  13. ball — a great time
  14. clip — a video
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. can — to be able to
  19. shower — to wash
  20. chair — a leader
  21. fall — the season
  22. last — to go on
  23. fall — to drop
  24. chair — a professorship

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