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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. file — a tool
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. file — a document
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. band — a music group
  8. spring — of water
  9. fall — the season
  10. file — a line of people
  11. spring — the season
  12. rash — hasty
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. dip — to sink
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. spring — a coil
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a leader
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. rash — a series
  23. band — a ring
  24. dip — a sauce

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