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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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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. scale — size or range
  3. board — to get on
  4. march — music
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. board — a committee
  9. saw — the tool
  10. march — the month
  11. saw — the tool
  12. march — the month
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. scale — in music
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bat — for baseball

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