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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: chair · cold · drill · deal · rock · file · bay · stand

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — a stone
  4. chair — a leader
  5. file — a document
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. drill — army training
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. drill — the tool
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. file — a tool
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. drill — a practice
  24. file — a line of people

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