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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. roll — a list
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. row — a line
  6. date — the fruit
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a line of people
  14. snap — to click
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. board — to get on
  19. row — to paddle
  20. board — a committee
  21. chair — a leader
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. roll — a cake
  24. file — a tool

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