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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. staff — employees
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. file — a line of people
  5. march — music
  6. net — in sport
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. march — the month
  9. track — a path
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. file — a tool
  12. net — after costs
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. track — to keep track
  15. net — for catching
  16. track — a song
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. march — the month
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. file — a document
  21. staff — employees
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. chair — a leader

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