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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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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bass — the fish
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. staff — employees
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. land — to come down
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. plane — a tool
  12. scale — size or range
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. land — a country
  15. chair — a leader
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bass — low music
  19. land — ground
  20. scale — in music
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. staff — a stick
  24. perch — for a bird

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