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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: board · chair · rule · tear · craft · file

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  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 professorship
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. file — a line of people
  8. craft — a skill
  9. file — a tool
  10. chair — a leader
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — a law
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. craft — boats
  15. board — a committee
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rule — to rule out
  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