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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. march — the month
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. chair — a leader
  6. staff — employees
  7. tube — a container
  8. lie — to recline
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. staff — employees
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. tube — the underground
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. staff — a stick
  24. hide — to keep secret

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