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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: snap · mark · march · pop · key · cell · chair · mine

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. mark — a trace
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. march — music
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. pop — soda
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. key — in music
  12. mark — a grade
  13. key — the most important part
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. march — the month
  17. cell — in biology
  18. march — the month
  19. cell — a phone
  20. snap — to click
  21. mine — for digging
  22. pop — music
  23. key — for a lock
  24. pop — to visit

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