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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. net — for catching
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a leader
  7. fine — all right
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. net — after costs
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. chip — for betting
  12. band — a ring
  13. march — the month
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — magic
  16. net — in sport
  17. march — music
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. band — a music group
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. fork — in a road
  23. spell — a short time
  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