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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. march — music
  3. stand — to bear
  4. saw — the tool
  5. spring — a coil
  6. march — the month
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. spring — of water
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. chair — a leader
  12. spring — the season
  13. saw — the tool
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. march — the month
  17. land — to come down
  18. dip — to sink
  19. board — a committee
  20. land — a country
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. land — ground
  23. board — to get on
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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