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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. row — a line
  3. march — music
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cell — a phone
  7. firm — steady
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. firm — decided
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — in a race
  15. cell — in biology
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chair — a leader
  18. march — the month
  19. row — to paddle
  20. march — the month
  21. firm — a company
  22. tear — to rip
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. row — a quarrel

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