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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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468
Word bank
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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — the fruit
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. file — a document
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. spell — magic
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. wind — moving air
  16. file — a line of people
  17. spell — letters
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. board — a committee
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. board — to get on
  24. spell — a short time

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