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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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. foot — part of the body
  4. march — the month
  5. present — the time now
  6. present — a gift
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. chair — a leader
  9. squash — the sport
  10. cold — not warm
  11. firm — decided
  12. firm — a company
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. march — music
  16. squash — to crush
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. present — there
  24. firm — steady

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