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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: last · charge · wind · chair · jam · roll · file · wake

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. wind — moving air
  5. file — a line of people
  6. roll — a cake
  7. roll — a list
  8. wake — a trail
  9. charge — in control
  10. file — a document
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. last — final
  18. last — finally
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. charge — a price
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. file — a tool
  23. charge — electricity
  24. last — to go on

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