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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. march — music
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. degree — from a university
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. season — of the year
  12. march — the month
  13. stand — to bear
  14. chair — a leader
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — for catching
  19. degree — temperature
  20. season — in sport
  21. net — in sport
  22. march — the month
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. degree — an amount

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