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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: chair · prune · mate · march · fall · firm · foot · drill

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. march — the month
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. drill — a practice
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. march — the month
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. prune — to trim
  10. chair — a leader
  11. march — music
  12. firm — steady
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a partner
  15. fall — to drop
  16. firm — decided
  17. drill — the tool
  18. mate — a friend
  19. fall — the season
  20. firm — a company
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. drill — army training
  24. fall — to drop

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