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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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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: sharp · row · foot · chair · bowl · toast · snap · last

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. row — to paddle
  4. chair — a leader
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. last — final
  10. last — to go on
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. foot — a measure
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. toast — bread
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. snap — to click
  20. sharp — clever
  21. row — a line
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. last — finally
  24. foot — the bottom

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