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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: last · mug · shower · craft · chair · spell · pitcher · land

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. last — final
  3. land — a country
  4. spell — a short time
  5. chair — a leader
  6. shower — to wash
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — letters
  9. mug — to rob
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. last — to go on
  13. craft — boats
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. land — to come down
  17. mug — a cup
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. land — ground
  21. last — finally
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. craft — a skill
  24. shower — rain

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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