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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. squash — to crush
  3. current — electric
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. current — of water
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — employees
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. chair — a leader
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rest — a break
  22. staff — a stick
  23. current — happening now
  24. squash — the sport

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