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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. last — to go on
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. march — the month
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — finally
  8. plane — a tool
  9. row — to paddle
  10. march — the month
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. rush — hurry
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. row — a line
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. last — final
  23. march — music
  24. ground — crushed

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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