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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: file · degree · tear · jam · chair · stand

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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 professorship
  3. file — a tool
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. degree — an amount
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a leader
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. tear — to rip
  11. degree — from a university
  12. stand — to bear
  13. file — a document
  14. tear — from crying
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. tear — from crying
  18. degree — temperature

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