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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. march — the month
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — in a race
  9. cell — a phone
  10. march — music
  11. date — the fruit
  12. cell — in biology
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. craft — a skill
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. march — the month
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pit — a hole
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. craft — boats
  24. racket — a loud noise

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