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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bat — the animal
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. key — the most important part
  6. march — the month
  7. ball — a great time
  8. key — in music
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. key — for a lock
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. march — music
  15. chest — a box
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. chest — of your body
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. chest — of your body
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. chair — a leader
  24. temple — side of the head

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