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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. land — a country
  3. file — a tool
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. chair — a leader
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. band — a music group
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a line
  17. perch — the fish
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. chair — to sit on

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