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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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. staff — employees
  4. fall — the season
  5. race — humankind
  6. pop — soda
  7. race — a contest
  8. pop — to visit
  9. race — the arms race
  10. fall — to drop
  11. ball — a dance
  12. lie — to recline
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a ring
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. band — a music group
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. staff — a stick
  19. pop — music
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. ball — a great time
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. chair — a leader
  24. fall — to drop

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