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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. file — a document
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. pass — a permit
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. file — a tool
  9. root — of a plant
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — in music
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. root — the cause
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. snap — to click
  22. root — of a word
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pass — to succeed

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