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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: file · mate · march · fork · staff · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  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. chair — a leader
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. fork — in a road
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — a partner
  6. march — music
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. file — a line of people
  9. staff — employees
  10. march — the month
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. march — the month
  13. staff — employees
  14. mate — to breed
  15. file — a tool
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. staff — a stick
  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