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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: lie · plane · roll · mate · chair · file · stock · wind

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. file — a line of people
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. mate — a partner
  6. lie — to recline
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. roll — a list
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chair — a leader
  17. stock — goods
  18. mate — to breed
  19. roll — a cake
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. stock — shares
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. plane — an aircraft

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