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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: chair · pit · squash · bound · deal · spring · last · toast

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. pit — a hole
  3. spring — the season
  4. bound — certain
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. deal — to handle
  8. last — final
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. squash — to crush
  12. pit — in a race
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. last — to go on
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bound — obliged
  19. toast — bread
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. last — finally
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. bound — tied together

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