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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.

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468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. staff — a stick
  3. mug — a face
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. kid — to tease
  6. root — of a plant
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. mug — a cup
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. march — the month
  15. mug — to rob
  16. root — the cause
  17. kid — child
  18. staff — employees
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. toast — bread
  21. root — of a word
  22. staff — employees
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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