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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 120 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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. fall — to drop
  7. march — the month
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. ball — a dance
  12. drill — the tool
  13. march — music
  14. game — wild animals
  15. ball — a great time
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. press — a publisher
  18. march — the month
  19. press — to push
  20. drill — a practice
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. press — newspapers
  23. game — a match
  24. fall — the season

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