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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. squash — the sport
  3. march — the month
  4. mate — a friend
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. perch — the fish
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. march — music
  11. mate — a partner
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. march — the month
  15. squash — to crush
  16. charge — a price
  17. mate — to breed
  18. charge — electricity
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. charge — in control
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. game — a match
  24. squash — the vegetable

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