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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. swing — to play on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. court — for sport
  6. row — a line
  7. court — of a king
  8. swing — music
  9. march — the month
  10. firm — decided
  11. swing — in golf
  12. firm — steady
  13. ground — crushed
  14. row — to paddle
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chip — for betting
  17. march — music
  18. chip — to eat
  19. firm — a company
  20. ground — the earth
  21. court — of law
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. ground — a position
  24. chip — in a computer

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