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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mate · kick · chair · arm · march · swing

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. 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. chair — a leader
  2. kick — in football
  3. march — the month
  4. mate — a partner
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. mate — a friend
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. march — the month
  10. mate — to breed
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. march — music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. 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