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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 124 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: bay · stick · march · chair · scale · chest · trunk · land

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. march — the month
  4. land — a country
  5. march — the month
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. scale — in music
  8. land — to come down
  9. chest — a box
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. chair — a leader
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. land — ground
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. scale — size or range
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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