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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. drill — the tool
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. drill — army training
  7. chest — of your body
  8. file — a document
  9. drill — a practice
  10. file — a line of people
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chair — a leader
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. roll — a cake
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. spring — of water
  23. roll — a list
  24. leaves — of a tree

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