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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 116 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: content · perch · march · lash · chair · tube · court · race

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. tube — a container
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. court — of a king
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. race — a contest
  8. march — the month
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. race — the arms race
  14. tube — the underground
  15. court — for sport
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. perch — the fish
  20. march — the month
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. race — humankind
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. court — of law

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