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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. pop — to visit
  4. march — music
  5. rash — a series
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. fine — all right
  8. pop — soda
  9. chair — a leader
  10. pop — music
  11. march — the month
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. cold — an illness
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. court — for sport
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. rash — hasty
  19. court — of a king
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. court — of law
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bowl — a dish

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