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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. tube — the underground
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. mark — a trace
  7. board — a committee
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. cold — not warm
  11. tube — a container
  12. chair — a leader
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. mark — a grade
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. squash — to crush
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. board — to get on
  24. march — the month

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