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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. march — the month
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. chair — a leader
  7. march — music
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. club — for dancing
  10. march — the month
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. club — for golf
  15. press — to push
  16. bound — obliged
  17. press — newspapers
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bound — tied together
  21. press — a publisher
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. club — a group
  24. bound — certain

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