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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 120 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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. swing — to play on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. squash — the sport
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. squash — to crush
  13. file — a document
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. swing — in golf
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. file — a line of people
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. mine — for digging
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. swing — music
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. pound — a weight

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