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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 116 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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. land — to come down
  4. board — a committee
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bass — low music
  7. march — the month
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. land — a country
  12. chair — a leader
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. land — ground
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. board — to get on
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. march — music

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