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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.

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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. chair — a leader
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. rock — music
  5. land — ground
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. land — to come down
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rock — a stone
  13. march — the month
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. object — to protest
  16. kid — child
  17. object — a thing
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. kid — to tease
  22. object — an aim
  23. march — music
  24. land — a country

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