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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bulb — for light
  3. net — in sport
  4. chair — a leader
  5. drill — army training
  6. net — after costs
  7. ground — a position
  8. drill — a practice
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bulb — for light
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bank — for money
  13. file — a line of people
  14. net — for catching
  15. file — a tool
  16. swing — in golf
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bank — of a river
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bank — for money
  23. file — a document
  24. swing — music

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