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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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Word bank
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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: chair · ruler · row · patient · net · pop · march · club

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. march — music
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. net — after costs
  6. march — the month
  7. chair — a leader
  8. club — for dancing
  9. net — in sport
  10. row — to paddle
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. pop — to visit
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. net — for catching
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. club — a group
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — a line
  21. pop — music
  22. club — for golf
  23. march — the month
  24. pop — soda

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