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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: present · chair · mine · kid · last · drill · date · stand

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. chair — a leader
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. kid — to tease
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. kid — child
  7. drill — army training
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. present — the time now
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. present — there
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. stand — to bear
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. drill — the tool
  20. date — the fruit
  21. present — a gift
  22. last — finally
  23. last — final
  24. last — to go on

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