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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. can — to be able to
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. chair — a leader
  10. march — the month
  11. can — a tin
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. march — the month
  15. pitch — completely
  16. cold — an illness
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. can — a tin
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. cold — not warm

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