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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. staff — employees
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. cue — a hint
  5. staff — a stick
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cue — for pool
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. cue — a signal
  12. rash — hasty
  13. staff — employees
  14. content — happy
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. rash — a series
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — to grow
  23. chair — a leader
  24. rash — on the skin

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