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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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: chair · wind · mine · pitch · file · pass · saw · wound

  1. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. pass — a permit
  3. file — a tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pitch — completely
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. file — a document
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. saw — the tool
  22. chair — a leader
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wind — moving air

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