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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. tube — the underground
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. file — a document
  8. pound — a weight
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. chair — a leader
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. march — the month
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. file — a line of people
  18. deal — to handle
  19. tube — a container
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. march — the month
  24. file — a tool

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