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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. net — after costs
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — hasty
  7. march — music
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. net — for catching
  10. hand — in cards
  11. net — in sport
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. march — the month
  18. chest — a box
  19. season — of the year
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. march — the month
  22. plane — a tool
  23. season — in sport
  24. hand — help

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