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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. mug — a cup
  4. court — of law
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a leader
  7. mug — a face
  8. mate — a partner
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. march — the month
  13. mug — to rob
  14. march — music
  15. court — of a king
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. court — for sport
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rock — a stone
  21. march — the month
  22. mate — to breed
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. mate — a friend

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