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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: row · file · rule · net · chest · chair · stand · spell

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. file — a line of people
  3. net — for catching
  4. rule — a law
  5. spell — magic
  6. file — a tool
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. spell — letters
  11. chest — of your body
  12. spell — a short time
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — after costs
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. row — a line
  18. stand — to bear
  19. chest — a box
  20. chair — a leader
  21. row — to paddle
  22. rule — government
  23. file — a document
  24. chair — a professorship

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