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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — in golf
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. mark — a trace
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. chair — a leader
  8. swing — music
  9. mark — a grade
  10. march — the month
  11. plane — a tool
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — to wash
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. march — music
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mine — for digging
  24. march — the month

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