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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 120 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. band — a ring
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. cell — a phone
  7. spell — a short time
  8. file — a tool
  9. band — a music group
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. spell — magic
  16. cell — in biology
  17. stock — shares
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. foot — a measure
  21. chair — a leader
  22. file — a document
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. spell — letters

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