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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. march — the month
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. spring — a coil
  5. last — finally
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. last — final
  9. chair — a leader
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. march — the month
  12. spring — of water
  13. tube — a container
  14. rash — hasty
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. march — music
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. chip — to eat
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. tube — the underground
  21. rash — a series
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. spring — the season

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