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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: chair · sharp · rest · march · spell · rush · swing · cap

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. rest — a break
  3. march — the month
  4. spell — a short time
  5. swing — music
  6. march — the month
  7. swing — in golf
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — of ice
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — hurry
  14. sharp — clever
  15. cap — a lid
  16. swing — to play on
  17. rest — what's left
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. chair — a leader
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — magic
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. rest — what's left
  24. march — music

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