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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. march — the month
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bear — the animal
  13. chest — a box
  14. kid — child
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bear — the animal
  17. kid — to tease
  18. hand — in cards
  19. prune — to trim
  20. chest — of your body
  21. hand — help
  22. chair — a leader
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. coach — a trainer

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