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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wind — moving air
  4. march — the month
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. chip — for betting
  10. spring — a coil
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. march — the month
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. spring — of water
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. plane — a tool
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. spring — the season
  22. march — music
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chair — a professorship

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