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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. tear — from crying
  7. scale — in music
  8. saw — the tool
  9. chair — a leader
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. saw — the tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. squash — to crush
  16. tear — to rip
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. scale — size or range
  19. march — music
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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