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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bank — for money
  4. race — the arms race
  5. club — for golf
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. track — a song
  8. file — a document
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. club — a group
  12. track — to keep track
  13. file — a tool
  14. club — for dancing
  15. race — a contest
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — final
  19. track — a path
  20. plane — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bank — for money
  23. bank — of a river
  24. race — humankind

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