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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. march — the month
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a great time
  6. tear — from crying
  7. content — the amount
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. date — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wake — a trail
  16. ball — a dance
  17. march — music
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — happy
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. tear — to rip

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