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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. band — a music group
  3. file — a line of people
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. key — in music
  8. fall — to drop
  9. last — finally
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. fall — to drop
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. file — a document
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. key — the most important part
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. key — for a lock
  19. branch — a division
  20. file — a tool
  21. last — final
  22. fall — the season
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. last — to go on

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