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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. chair — a leader
  3. cold — not warm
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. perch — the fish
  8. object — an aim
  9. track — a path
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cold — an illness
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. object — to protest
  15. track — a song
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. march — music
  18. swing — to play on
  19. track — to keep track
  20. object — a thing
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. swing — music
  23. temple — a place of worship
  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