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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: ground · fork · cell · season · deal · last · club · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. club — a group
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — crushed
  5. chair — a leader
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. last — final
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cell — a phone
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. cell — in biology
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. club — for golf
  16. last — finally
  17. season — in sport
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. ground — the earth
  22. last — to go on
  23. deal — to handle
  24. season — of the year

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