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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 116 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: fine · rush · land · fall · bowl · last · chair · craft

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. land — to come down
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. last — finally
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. craft — a skill
  7. fall — to drop
  8. craft — boats
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. land — ground
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. rush — hurry
  17. last — final
  18. land — a country
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fine — all right
  21. last — to go on
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. bowl — a football final

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