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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: last · bark · rule · straw · file · chair · row · leaves

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. last — finally
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. last — final
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. rule — government
  13. row — a line
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. rule — a law
  18. chair — a leader
  19. file — a line of people
  20. last — to go on
  21. file — a document
  22. bark — to shout
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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