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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: kick · chair · toast · wind · roll · stand · drill · file

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. roll — a list
  7. roll — a cake
  8. file — a line of people
  9. stand — to bear
  10. file — a tool
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. drill — the tool
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. wind — moving air
  15. file — a document
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. drill — army training
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. drill — a practice
  20. kick — in football
  21. chair — a leader
  22. wind — moving air
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. toast — bread

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