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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside 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. game — a kind of play
  2. chair — a leader
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. firm — steady
  6. game — wild animals
  7. hand — help
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. firm — decided
  10. bark — to shout
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. game — a match
  15. march — the month
  16. hand — in cards
  17. march — music
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. perch — the fish
  20. firm — a company
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. chair — to sit on
  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