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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. march — music
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. cold — an illness
  11. court — of law
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. court — for sport
  15. cold — not warm
  16. ball — a dance
  17. last — final
  18. court — of a king
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. date — the fruit
  22. ball — a great time
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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