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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. rule — government
  3. craft — boats
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. file — a document
  6. chair — a leader
  7. rule — a law
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cold — not warm
  11. key — for a lock
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. key — the most important part
  17. cold — an illness
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. key — in music
  20. file — a tool
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. craft — a skill
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. cold — the Cold War

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