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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. last — finally
  5. perch — the fish
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a tool
  8. last — to go on
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a song
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — government
  15. track — a path
  16. last — final
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chair — a leader
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. file — a document
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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