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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. file — a line of people
  6. march — music
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. rush — hurry
  10. game — wild animals
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. game — a match
  13. file — a document
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. chair — a leader
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to click
  23. march — the month
  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