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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 120 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. staff — employees
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. file — a document
  7. kick — in football
  8. file — a line of people
  9. vault — a safe
  10. land — ground
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. land — a country
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. staff — employees
  19. land — to come down
  20. kid — to tease
  21. file — a tool
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. kid — child

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