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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.

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 · rock · coach · march · last · pass · fork

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. last — to go on
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pass — a permit
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. march — the month
  12. last — finally
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. rock — a stone
  17. march — the month
  18. rush — hurry
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. last — final
  22. fork — in a road
  23. march — music
  24. rock — 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