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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. drill — army training
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. degree — from a university
  8. board — a committee
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chest — a box
  11. chair — a leader
  12. file — a document
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. board — to get on
  15. date — the fruit
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. chest — of your body
  18. drill — a practice
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pass — a permit
  22. drill — the tool
  23. file — a tool
  24. date — on the calendar

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