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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. last — to go on
  3. present — the time now
  4. deal — to handle
  5. present — a gift
  6. march — music
  7. chair — a leader
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. saw — the tool
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. bat — the animal
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. march — the month
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. march — the month
  19. saw — the tool
  20. last — finally
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. last — final
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — an eyelash

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