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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. file — a line of people
  3. chair — a leader
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. cue — a signal
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. cue — for pool
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. file — a tool
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ball — a dance
  19. file — a document
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. cue — a hint
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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