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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pit — in a race
  3. rock — a stone
  4. file — a document
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. file — a tool
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. file — a line of people
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. rock — music
  24. arm — part of the body

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