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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. drill — army training
  3. object — an aim
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. club — a group
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. land — to come down
  9. wind — moving air
  10. object — to protest
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. land — ground
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. club — for golf
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. club — for dancing
  19. object — a thing
  20. land — a country
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. drill — the tool
  24. file — a line of people

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