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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 · rush · last · dip · land · ground · jam · deal

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. land — a country
  4. ground — the earth
  5. last — to go on
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. ground — a position
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. land — to come down
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. land — ground
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. last — final
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. rush — hurry
  18. last — finally
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. ground — crushed
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. dip — to sink
  24. deal — to handle

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