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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: dip · wound · last · bound · chair · mine · pit · scale

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bound — certain
  3. last — finally
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. wound — an injury
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. last — to go on
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. dip — to sink
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bound — tied together
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bound — obliged
  19. pit — in a race
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pit — a hole
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. last — final
  24. scale — size or range

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