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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: rock · date · race · chair · land · pop · file · pound

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. date — the fruit
  5. file — a tool
  6. land — to come down
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. land — ground
  10. race — the arms race
  11. land — a country
  12. race — a contest
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rock — music
  15. pound — a weight
  16. file — a document
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. pop — music
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pop — to visit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. race — humankind
  23. pop — soda
  24. file — a line of people

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