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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  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. chair — to sit on
  2. file — a document
  3. present — there
  4. file — a line of people
  5. chest — a box
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. fine — all right
  9. rule — a law
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. chair — a leader
  13. fine — high quality
  14. present — the time now
  15. chest — of your body
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. band — a music group
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. rule — government
  23. present — a gift
  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