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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. rock — music
  4. fine — all right
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. firm — steady
  9. fine — high quality
  10. chair — a leader
  11. march — music
  12. firm — decided
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. march — the month
  18. cold — not warm
  19. march — the month
  20. cold — an illness
  21. firm — a company
  22. rock — a stone
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. mine — for digging

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