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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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468
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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. swing — music
  3. march — the month
  4. wind — moving air
  5. march — music
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. swing — in golf
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. cell — a phone
  12. vault — a safe
  13. season — in sport
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. march — the month
  19. season — of the year
  20. swing — to play on
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chair — a leader
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. cell — in biology

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