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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. march — the month
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. season — in sport
  7. staff — a stick
  8. march — the month
  9. bass — the fish
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. march — music
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bass — low music
  20. chair — a leader
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. lie — to recline

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