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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 120 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: spring · trunk · march · dip · wake · fine · saw · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. march — music
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. dip — to sink
  5. spring — a coil
  6. march — the month
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wake — a trail
  9. march — the month
  10. fine — all right
  11. chair — a leader
  12. spring — the season
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. fine — high quality
  19. saw — the tool
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. spring — of water
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. fine — a penalty

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