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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: pitcher · cap · fan · wave · march · rash · cabinet · chair

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. rash — hasty
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. march — the month
  5. chair — a leader
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cap — a hat
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. rash — a series
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. cap — of ice
  24. fan — a supporter

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