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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. chair — a leader
  5. march — music
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. march — the month
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — a coil
  10. fine — high quality
  11. dip — to sink
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. march — the month
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fine — all right
  17. spring — of water
  18. tube — a container

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