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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. capital — money
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. file — a tool
  6. row — a line
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. rock — music
  9. file — a document
  10. mug — a cup
  11. capital — a city
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. mug — to rob
  15. file — a line of people
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. row — to paddle
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. rock — a stone
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — help

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