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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: firm · march · pound · bay · kid · chair

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. march — music
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. march — the month
  7. kid — to tease
  8. firm — a company
  9. firm — steady
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. firm — decided
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. 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