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

Word bank: mate · chair · ruler · firm · bat · file

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. mate — a partner
  4. firm — a company
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. firm — steady
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. bat — the animal
  10. firm — decided
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mate — a friend
  16. file — a tool
  17. mate — to breed
  18. chair — a professorship

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