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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 116 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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. rash — a series
  9. file — a tool
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. march — music
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. rash — hasty
  15. scale — in music
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — thin
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. scale — size or range
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. march — the month
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. march — the month

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