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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. land — a country
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. spell — letters
  8. file — a line of people
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. race — the arms race
  11. spell — a short time
  12. land — to come down
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. spell — magic
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. land — ground
  17. board — to get on
  18. race — humankind
  19. board — a committee
  20. file — a tool
  21. race — a contest
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a leader
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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