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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · chair · cabinet · last · march · chest · clip · firm

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — a video
  4. chest — of your body
  5. file — a document
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. file — a line of people
  8. march — the month
  9. last — finally
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. march — the month
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. chest — of your body
  15. last — to go on
  16. chest — a box
  17. firm — decided
  18. march — music
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a leader
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. file — a tool
  23. last — final
  24. firm — steady

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