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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.

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: shower · leaves · squash · file · scale · present · chair · rest

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. rest — what's left
  3. present — a gift
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. scale — in music
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. shower — to wash
  9. squash — to crush
  10. present — the time now
  11. present — there
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. file — a document
  17. chair — a leader
  18. squash — the sport
  19. scale — size or range
  20. shower — rain
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rest — a break
  24. rest — what's left

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