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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. track — a song
  3. firm — a company
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. march — music
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cell — a phone
  8. fall — the season
  9. hand — help
  10. march — the month
  11. chair — a leader
  12. track — a path
  13. fall — to drop
  14. saw — the tool
  15. track — to keep track
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. firm — steady
  20. cell — in biology
  21. fall — to drop
  22. saw — the tool
  23. hand — in cards
  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