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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. staff — employees
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. chip — to eat
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. last — finally
  10. chair — a leader
  11. field — a subject
  12. kid — child
  13. season — in sport
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. staff — a stick
  16. season — of the year
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — final
  19. branch — a division
  20. kid — to tease
  21. field — farmland
  22. chip — for betting
  23. field — for sport
  24. staff — employees

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