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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. swing — in golf
  3. file — a document
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. rest — a break
  6. pop — to visit
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. file — a line of people
  10. rest — what's left
  11. chair — a leader
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. file — a tool
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — music
  16. pop — soda
  17. content — happy
  18. rest — what's left
  19. content — the amount
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. deal — to handle
  23. pop — music
  24. wind — moving air

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