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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. club — for dancing
  3. fine — high quality
  4. band — a ring
  5. club — for golf
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. file — a document
  9. fine — all right
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. fall — the season
  13. file — a tool
  14. club — a group
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — to protest
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. object — a thing
  19. chair — a leader
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wake — a trail
  24. chair — a professorship

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