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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — to paddle
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. club — a group
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. club — for dancing
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. file — a tool
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. file — a document
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wake — a trail
  22. club — for golf
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — before a funeral

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