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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: band · file · stock · jam · snap · last · row · chair

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. snap — to click
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. band — a ring
  11. stock — shares
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a line of people
  14. row — to paddle
  15. last — finally
  16. band — a music group
  17. stock — goods
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chair — a leader
  24. file — a tool

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