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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. march — the month
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. cell — in biology
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bore — to drill
  14. hand — in cards
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. toast — bread
  17. bore — to tire
  18. march — the month
  19. cell — a phone
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. march — music
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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