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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 116 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. branch — a division
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. object — to protest
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. file — a line of people
  11. ground — a position
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stand — to bear
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a music group
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. object — a thing
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — crushed
  22. object — an aim
  23. band — a ring
  24. file — a document

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