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

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. chair — a leader
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. land — to come down
  8. file — a line of people
  9. land — a country
  10. present — a gift
  11. capital — a city
  12. land — ground
  13. fork — in a road
  14. file — a document
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. capital — money
  18. present — there
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. present — the time now
  23. file — a tool
  24. temple — a place of worship

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