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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. staff — employees
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. file — a line of people
  6. staff — employees
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. staff — a stick
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. file — a document
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. file — a tool
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. kick — in football

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