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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  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. chair — a professorship
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. file — a tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rule — government
  7. pop — to visit
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. wound — an injury
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — a law
  14. pop — soda
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. file — a line of people
  19. lie — to recline
  20. chair — a leader
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. pop — music
  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