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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. chair — a leader
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. season — in sport
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. file — a document
  7. track — a path
  8. file — a tool
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. season — of the year
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. track — to keep track
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. pop — soda
  20. track — a song
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. pop — music
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. season — to add flavour

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