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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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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: rush · chair · track · file · mug · wound · last · hide

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. file — a line of people
  3. last — to go on
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mug — a cup
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. last — finally
  8. track — to keep track
  9. wound — an injury
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. mug — to rob
  13. last — final
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. file — a tool
  16. track — a path
  17. rush — hurry
  18. track — a song
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. mug — a face
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. chair — a leader
  24. file — a document

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