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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. march — the month
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. chair — a leader
  6. spring — the season
  7. craft — a skill
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. rock — music
  10. craft — boats
  11. march — the month
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. spring — of water
  14. rock — a stone
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. spring — a coil
  20. content — the amount
  21. march — music
  22. content — happy
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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