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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. chair — a leader
  3. march — music
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. fine — all right
  8. last — to go on
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. court — of a king
  13. deal — to handle
  14. fine — high quality
  15. court — of law
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a cup
  18. court — for sport
  19. mug — a face
  20. last — finally
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. march — the month
  23. last — final
  24. march — the month

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