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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  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. chair — a professorship
  2. march — the month
  3. face — part of the head
  4. march — the month
  5. spell — letters
  6. cue — a hint
  7. chair — a leader
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. face — to confront
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. cue — for pool
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. spell — magic
  19. rash — hasty
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. cue — a signal
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. face — to point toward
  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