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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. staff — a stick
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bore — to tire
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. wake — a trail
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. squash — the sport
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. squash — to crush
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. pitch — completely
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. stock — goods
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. stock — shares
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bore — to drill
  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