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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. march — music
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rock — music
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. rock — a stone
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. snap — to click
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cold — not warm
  14. march — the month
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. net — after costs
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. march — the month
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. chair — a leader
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — for catching
  24. chair — a professorship

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