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

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. staff — employees
  8. hand — help
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. rash — a series
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. staff — a stick
  13. chair — a leader
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. wake — a trail
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bass — low music
  22. branch — a division
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. branch — of a bank

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