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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. scale — size or range
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. scale — in music
  8. march — the month
  9. bat — the animal
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. march — the month
  12. tube — a container
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. chair — a leader
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. cap — of ice
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. march — music
  20. cap — a hat
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. tube — the underground
  24. cap — a lid

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