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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a path
  5. shower — to wash
  6. board — a committee
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. chair — a leader
  10. march — the month
  11. swing — in golf
  12. stock — goods
  13. swing — to play on
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. track — a song
  16. press — to push
  17. board — to get on
  18. press — a publisher
  19. swing — music
  20. stock — shares
  21. march — music
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. march — the month
  24. press — newspapers

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