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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  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. march — music
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mark — a grade
  4. roll — a list
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. rush — hurry
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. chair — a leader
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. roll — a cake
  17. band — a ring
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. perch — the fish
  20. mark — a trace
  21. march — the month
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. date — the fruit
  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