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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. drill — the tool
  5. march — music
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. bass — low music
  8. chair — a leader
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. drill — army training
  13. march — the month
  14. scale — size or range
  15. march — the month
  16. scale — in music
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. drill — a practice
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bass — the fish

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