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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bulb · rest · season · file · chip · last · hand · chair

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. season — of the year
  5. chip — for betting
  6. hand — in cards
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. rest — what's left
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. hand — help
  11. season — in sport
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. chip — to eat
  14. last — finally
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. file — a line of people
  17. rest — a break
  18. file — a document
  19. rest — what's left
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. file — a tool
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — for light
  24. chair — a leader

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