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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. spring — of water
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. row — a line
  5. row — to paddle
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a tool
  8. dip — to sink
  9. last — to go on
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. last — final
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. spring — the season
  17. key — for a lock
  18. chair — a leader
  19. spring — a coil
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. file — a document
  22. last — finally
  23. key — in music
  24. key — the most important part

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