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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 116 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. capital — money
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. capital — a city
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. file — a tool
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. sharp — clever
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. chair — a leader
  18. present — the time now
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. file — a document
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. present — there
  23. present — a gift
  24. rush — hurry

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