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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 120 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pit — a hole
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. pit — in a race
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. fine — all right
  15. capital — a city
  16. ball — a dance
  17. capital — money
  18. fine — high quality
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. march — music
  21. cold — not warm
  22. march — the month
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. ball — a great time

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