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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: race · chair · lie · present · club · file · foot · mouse

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  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. mouse — the animal
  2. club — for dancing
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. present — a gift
  9. club — for golf
  10. race — a contest
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. foot — a measure
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. race — the arms race
  15. club — a group
  16. file — a tool
  17. lie — to recline
  18. present — the time now
  19. race — humankind
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. chair — a leader
  22. file — a document
  23. present — there
  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