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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. march — the month
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. perch — the fish
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. mark — a trace
  14. rule — a law
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. march — the month
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. mark — a grade
  20. bat — the animal
  21. rule — government
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. march — music

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