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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.

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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: chair · bark · rule · file · present · spell · march · stick

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. rule — a law
  2. present — the time now
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. rule — government
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bark — to shout
  7. march — the month
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — letters
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a tool
  12. present — a gift
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. present — there
  20. spell — a short time
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. chair — a leader
  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