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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. chair — a leader
  5. prune — to trim
  6. march — music
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. march — the month
  9. rule — government
  10. tube — the underground
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. march — the month
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. tube — a container
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. nail — for a hammer

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