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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — completely
  5. key — for a lock
  6. drill — a practice
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. wound — an injury
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. wound — an injury
  14. march — the month
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. key — in music
  17. drill — army training
  18. march — the month
  19. drill — the tool
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. march — music
  23. fork — in a road
  24. key — the most important part

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