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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. file — a document
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a leader
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. march — the month
  8. rule — government
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. ground — crushed
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. ground — the earth
  16. rule — a law
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. march — music
  19. file — a tool
  20. cap — a hat
  21. march — the month
  22. ground — a position
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — of ice

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