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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. file — a tool
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. kick — in football
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bound — tied together
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bound — obliged
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. game — a match
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. last — finally
  19. last — to go on
  20. season — in sport
  21. last — final
  22. season — of the year
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bound — certain

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