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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: rest · mine · last · chair · present · hide · court · bulb

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. court — for sport
  3. bulb — for light
  4. mine — for digging
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. rest — a break
  7. last — finally
  8. rest — what's left
  9. court — of a king
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. present — the time now
  12. chair — a leader
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. present — a gift
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. court — of law
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bulb — for light
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. last — to go on
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. present — there

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