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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bound — certain
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bound — tied together
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. staff — employees
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. march — music
  18. bound — obliged
  19. hand — help
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. staff — employees
  22. march — the month
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. staff — a stick

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