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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. march — the month
  3. row — a line
  4. march — the month
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. file — a document
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. tube — a container
  9. file — a tool
  10. tube — the underground
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. file — a line of people
  13. mine — for digging
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. march — music
  18. chip — to eat
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. date — the fruit
  22. chair — a leader
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. chip — for betting

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