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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. capital — money
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. file — a document
  7. object — to protest
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. capital — a city
  14. object — a thing
  15. date — the fruit
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. chair — a leader
  19. file — a tool
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. saw — the tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. object — an aim

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