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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. press — a publisher
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. club — a group
  8. file — a tool
  9. club — for golf
  10. stock — shares
  11. race — humankind
  12. bear — the animal
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bear — the animal
  15. file — a document
  16. press — to push
  17. race — the arms race
  18. stand — to bear
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. press — newspapers
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stock — goods
  23. race — a contest
  24. file — a line of people

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