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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: fan · cabinet · prune · chair · pitcher · jam · last · land

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. land — to come down
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. chair — a leader
  6. land — ground
  7. last — final
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. last — to go on
  14. land — a country
  15. prune — to trim
  16. last — finally
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. jam — a tight spot

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