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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: row · content · file · chair · land · stem · march · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. file — a document
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. land — ground
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. content — happy
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. land — to come down
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. file — a tool
  18. chair — a leader
  19. content — the amount
  20. stem — to come from
  21. file — a line of people
  22. land — a country
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. mine — for digging

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