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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 116 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: wound · kid · bark · stand · file · hide · key · chair

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. file — a document
  4. key — the most important part
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bark — to shout
  7. key — in music
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wound — an injury
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. stand — to bear
  14. wound — an injury
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. file — a tool
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. kid — child
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. key — for a lock
  24. kid — to tease

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