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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.

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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. swing — to play on
  4. wound — an injury
  5. march — the month
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — hasty
  9. swing — in golf
  10. rest — what's left
  11. march — music
  12. swing — music
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rash — a series
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. march — the month
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rest — what's left

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