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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rule — government
  5. file — a document
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. rule — a law
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rush — hurry
  19. dip — to sink
  20. date — the fruit
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. wound — an injury
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. file — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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