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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. file — a line of people
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. march — music
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. field — farmland
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. chip — for betting
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. hand — in cards
  12. march — the month
  13. file — a document
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chair — a leader
  16. hand — help
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. field — for sport
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. file — a tool
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. field — a subject

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