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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. file — a tool
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. file — a document
  7. last — final
  8. rush — hurry
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. hand — in cards
  12. last — finally
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — a leader
  16. stand — to bear
  17. hand — help
  18. file — a line of people
  19. last — to go on
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a hole
  24. chip — for betting

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