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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He took the fish out of 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. swing — to play on
  2. swing — in golf
  3. chair — a leader
  4. perch — the fish
  5. drill — a practice
  6. swing — music
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. march — music
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. march — the month
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. net — after costs
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. drill — army training
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. net — in sport
  22. drill — the tool
  23. net — for catching
  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