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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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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: file · chair · cell · rock · game · lean · key · kid

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. chair — a leader
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. key — for a lock
  7. lean — thin
  8. rock — a stone
  9. key — the most important part
  10. file — a line of people
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. lean — to bend
  13. game — a match
  14. game — wild animals
  15. rock — music
  16. cell — in biology
  17. kid — child
  18. file — a tool
  19. key — in music
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. file — a document
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in a prison

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