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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. track — a song
  4. scale — in music
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. land — to come down
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. scale — size or range
  11. lie — to recline
  12. bat — the animal
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chair — a leader
  15. track — a path
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. land — ground
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — employees
  22. land — a country
  23. track — to keep track
  24. scale — for weighing

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