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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  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. chair — to sit on
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. roll — a cake
  5. march — the month
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. march — music
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. scale — size or range
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. roll — a list
  20. chair — a leader
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — in music
  23. roll — on a roll
  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