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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 · roll · pitcher · sharp · band · land · chair · bass

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. land — ground
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bass — low music
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — a country
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. band — a music group
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. band — a ring
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. roll — a cake
  18. last — final
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bass — the fish
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. roll — a list

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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