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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: chair · chest · file · plane · club · wound · cap · stand

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cap — of ice
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. file — a tool
  8. chest — of your body
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. club — a group
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. club — for golf
  13. chest — a box
  14. stand — to bear
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chair — a leader
  17. cap — a hat
  18. wound — an injury
  19. club — for dancing
  20. file — a document
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. cap — a lid
  23. file — a line of people
  24. plane — a tool

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