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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. land — ground
  3. band — a music group
  4. chair — a leader
  5. land — a country
  6. court — of a king
  7. march — music
  8. drill — a practice
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. land — to come down
  12. court — for sport
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. drill — army training
  15. band — a ring
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. drill — the tool
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. march — the month
  22. court — of law
  23. chair — a professorship
  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