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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. firm — steady
  4. firm — a company
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. band — a music group
  9. face — part of the head
  10. file — a tool
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. firm — decided
  14. face — to confront
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. foot — a measure
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chair — a leader
  21. face — to point toward
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. fan — a supporter

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