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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: chair · pitcher · last · spring · ground · foot · lie · mine

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. mine — for digging
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. spring — a coil
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. last — finally
  9. spring — the season
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. ground — the earth
  13. last — to go on
  14. chair — a leader
  15. spring — of water
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. lie — to recline
  18. last — final
  19. ground — a position
  20. foot — a measure
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. lie — an untruth

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