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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bound — certain
  4. rock — music
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. mine — for digging
  7. file — a tool
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bound — tied together
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. cap — a hat
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bound — obliged
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. cap — a lid
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. rock — a stone
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. file — a document

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