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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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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 · fan · wave · nail · net · chair · ground · last

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. file — a tool
  9. last — to go on
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. ground — a position
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. ground — crushed
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. ground — the earth
  21. file — a document
  22. net — in sport
  23. file — a line of people
  24. nail — on a finger

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