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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. fine — all right
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. net — after costs
  6. fine — high quality
  7. march — music
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. track — a path
  11. chair — a leader
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. row — a line
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. saw — the tool
  18. track — a song
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. row — to paddle
  21. track — to keep track
  22. saw — the tool
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — for catching

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