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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 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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. cell — a phone
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. plane — a tool
  6. pass — a permit
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. chair — a leader
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. staff — a stick
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stock — shares
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. stock — goods
  19. cold — not warm
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cold — an illness

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