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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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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: date · lean · race · file · rest · chair · row · bay

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. row — a line
  3. lean — thin
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. lean — to bend
  7. rest — a break
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rest — what's left
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. chair — a leader
  16. file — a line of people
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. race — humankind
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. date — the fruit
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. row — to paddle

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