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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 116 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. chair — a leader
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. track — a song
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. march — the month
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — to eat
  13. snap — to click
  14. net — for catching
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. track — a path
  21. net — after costs
  22. track — to keep track
  23. net — in sport
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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