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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. board — a committee
  3. chair — a leader
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. land — ground
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. snap — to click
  13. board — to get on
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — a country
  18. file — a tool
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. ball — a great time
  22. lie — to recline
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. rush — a thrill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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