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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wind — moving air
  3. march — the month
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. plane — a tool
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. march — the month
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. tear — to rip
  15. fork — in a road
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pit — a hole
  20. dip — to sink
  21. pit — in a race
  22. march — music
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. chair — to sit on

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