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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. field — a subject
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. file — a document
  6. bank — for money
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. field — for sport
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. field — farmland
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bank — for money
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bank — of a river
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. file — a tool
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. file — a line of people
  23. chair — a leader
  24. date — on the calendar

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