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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. spring — of water
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. stand — to bear
  5. chest — of your body
  6. staff — a stick
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a leader
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. spring — a coil
  11. kid — to tease
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. kid — child
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. chest — a box
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. branch — a division
  18. bound — tied together
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bound — obliged
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. bound — certain
  23. staff — employees
  24. spring — the season

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