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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. rest — what's left
  3. chair — a leader
  4. stem — to come from
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. pit — a hole
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. file — a tool
  13. march — the month
  14. file — a document
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. rest — a break
  17. fall — to drop
  18. march — the month
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. pit — in a race
  21. rest — what's left
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. fall — the season

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