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

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. key — in music
  4. chair — a leader
  5. march — music
  6. key — for a lock
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — the amount
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — goods
  12. key — the most important part
  13. march — the month
  14. game — wild animals
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. game — a match
  17. stock — shares
  18. content — happy

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