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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. chair — a leader
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. march — the month
  6. pass — a permit
  7. scale — size or range
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. season — of the year
  15. march — the month
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. game — a match
  19. scale — in music
  20. march — music
  21. season — in sport
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. game — wild animals

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