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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. track — to keep track
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. can — a tin
  7. file — a document
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wind — moving air
  13. can — a tin
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. track — a path
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wind — moving air
  21. track — a song
  22. stand — to bear
  23. mine — for digging
  24. can — to be able to

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