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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. file — a document
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. stand — to bear
  7. charge — in control
  8. net — after costs
  9. charge — electricity
  10. lean — to bend
  11. file — a line of people
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. toast — bread
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. charge — a price
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. chair — a leader
  23. lean — thin
  24. straw — a straw man

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