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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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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 · racket · bear · toast · kid · file

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. bear — the animal
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. file — a tool
  5. kid — to tease
  6. chair — a leader
  7. file — a line of people
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bear — the animal
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. kid — child
  14. toast — bread
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. file — a document

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