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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · rush · season · craft · plane · march · staff · court

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. rush — hurry
  3. court — for sport
  4. plane — a tool
  5. craft — boats
  6. march — the month
  7. court — of a king
  8. march — music
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. chair — a leader
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. season — in sport
  14. march — the month
  15. craft — a skill
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. staff — a stick
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. court — of law
  24. plane — in geometry

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