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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. row — a line
  4. file — a tool
  5. row — to paddle
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — a leader
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. file — a line of people
  12. roll — a list
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. lean — thin
  16. mine — for digging
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. roll — a cake
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. lean — to bend
  24. wound — an injury

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