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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 116 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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. march — music
  3. fork — in a road
  4. spring — of water
  5. bark — to shout
  6. court — of law
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. march — the month
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. band — a ring
  13. spring — a coil
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. march — the month
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. band — a music group
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. pass — a permit
  21. spring — the season
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. chair — a leader
  24. band — a rubber band

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