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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. content — the amount
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. content — happy
  9. chair — a leader
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. march — the month
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — a trail
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. march — the month
  24. content — videos and posts

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