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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — a short time
  3. march — the month
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. kid — child
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. toast — bread
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. march — music
  12. saw — the tool
  13. kid — to tease
  14. rule — a law
  15. file — a document
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rule — government
  18. spell — letters
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. file — a line of people
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. march — the month
  23. chair — a leader
  24. file — a tool

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