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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chair — a leader
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. sharp — clever
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bass — low music
  14. file — a document
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bass — the fish
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. rock — a stone
  20. file — a tool
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chair — to sit on

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