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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. shower — to wash
  4. chair — a leader
  5. staff — a stick
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. field — for sport
  11. shower — rain
  12. fall — to drop
  13. field — a subject
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. board — a committee
  19. staff — employees
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. field — farmland

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