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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a tool
  4. land — to come down
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. court — for sport
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. chair — a leader
  9. land — ground
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. season — of the year
  13. land — a country
  14. court — of a king
  15. tube — a container
  16. season — in sport
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. court — of law
  21. tube — the underground
  22. file — a line of people
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bulb — for light

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