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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: field · roll · court · chair · file · rash · bound · tube

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. roll — a list
  3. tube — a container
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. bound — tied together
  7. roll — a cake
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a tool
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. field — farmland
  13. court — for sport
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. tube — the underground
  16. court — of a king
  17. field — a subject
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — certain
  20. field — for sport
  21. rash — a series
  22. court — of law
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. rash — hasty

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