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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · land · tube · last · scale · game · ground · fan

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. land — a country
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — a leader
  7. last — to go on
  8. scale — size or range
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. ground — a position
  12. land — to come down
  13. ground — the earth
  14. tube — the underground
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. game — a match
  17. last — final
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. scale — in music
  20. last — finally
  21. tube — a container
  22. land — ground
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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