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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 116 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. saw — the tool
  3. march — music
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. staff — employees
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. swing — to play on
  10. mug — a face
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. chair — a leader
  14. kid — to tease
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. march — the month
  17. kid — child
  18. swing — music
  19. mug — a cup
  20. saw — the tool
  21. staff — a stick
  22. swing — in golf
  23. staff — employees
  24. march — the month

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