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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: wound · firm · file · chair · pop · mine · ball · leaves

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. pop — soda
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mine — for digging
  7. ball — a great time
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. file — a tool
  10. firm — steady
  11. pop — music
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. chair — a leader
  14. firm — decided
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. ball — a dance
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. file — a document
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. pop — to visit
  21. firm — a company
  22. wound — an injury
  23. file — a line of people
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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