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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 116 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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 — to sit on
  2. staff — employees
  3. march — the month
  4. face — to point toward
  5. march — music
  6. staff — employees
  7. chair — a leader
  8. staff — a stick
  9. mug — a face
  10. bound — certain
  11. mug — a cup
  12. face — to confront
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bound — tied together
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. mug — to rob
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bound — obliged
  23. march — the month
  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