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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. kid — to tease
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. staff — a stick
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. chair — a leader
  7. charge — a price
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tear — to rip
  12. snap — to click
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. charge — in control
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. tear — from crying
  18. charge — electricity
  19. sharp — clever
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. tear — from crying
  22. staff — employees
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. kid — child

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