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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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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: chip · chair · racket · last · bark · face · cue · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bark — to shout
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. last — final
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cue — a hint
  8. last — to go on
  9. face — part of the head
  10. last — finally
  11. cue — for pool
  12. chair — a leader
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. face — to confront
  16. march — the month
  17. chip — to eat
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cue — a signal
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. march — the month
  24. racket — for tennis

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