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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. cold — an illness
  4. chair — a leader
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. board — a committee
  8. cold — not warm
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. face — to confront
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. stand — to bear
  14. saw — the tool
  15. march — the month
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. board — to get on
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. march — music

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