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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.

Make a worksheet

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: ground · file · straw · chair · land · object · squash · rock

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. land — a country
  3. ground — a position
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. rock — a stone
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. ground — crushed
  9. land — ground
  10. object — to protest
  11. ground — the earth
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. file — a line of people
  16. land — to come down
  17. squash — to crush
  18. object — an aim
  19. object — a thing
  20. file — a tool
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. chair — a leader
  23. file — a document
  24. rock — music

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