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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 · board · fall · dip · toast · file · mine · pound

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pound — a weight
  4. dip — to sink
  5. chair — a leader
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. board — a committee
  10. fall — to drop
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. fall — the season
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. mine — for digging
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. file — a line of people
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. board — to get on

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