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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · file · rule · mine · patient · march

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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 leader
  3. rule — government
  4. march — the month
  5. file — a document
  6. march — the month
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rule — a law
  9. march — music
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. file — a tool
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. patient — calm and waiting

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