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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. march — music
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. spell — magic
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. chair — a leader
  9. spell — letters
  10. track — a song
  11. spell — a short time
  12. track — a path
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. march — the month
  16. fall — the season
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chip — to eat
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. chip — for betting
  22. fall — to drop
  23. march — the month
  24. track — to keep track

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