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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: sharp · chair · last · key · bore · clip · march · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. key — in music
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to drill
  7. rash — a series
  8. bore — to tire
  9. key — for a lock
  10. last — to go on
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. chair — a leader
  13. last — finally
  14. sharp — clever
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. last — final
  17. march — music
  18. clip — for paper
  19. key — the most important part
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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