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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. file — a tool
  4. club — a group
  5. file — a line of people
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. file — a document
  13. club — for dancing
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — goods
  17. net — for catching
  18. land — ground
  19. chair — a leader
  20. club — for golf
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. land — a country

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