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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: staff · cell · tear · chest · pass · plane

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. plane — a tool
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. chest — of your body
  6. tear — to rip
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. tear — from crying
  12. staff — a stick
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cell — a phone
  15. chest — a box
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pass — a permit

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