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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. hand — help
  6. bat — the animal
  7. march — music
  8. spell — letters
  9. scale — in music
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. spell — a short time
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. spell — magic
  23. scale — size or range
  24. content — the amount

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