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

Word bank: last · staff · mouse · cell · chair · tear

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. staff — employees
  3. last — to go on
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. last — final
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cell — in biology
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. staff — a stick
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. last — finally
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. staff — employees
  18. mouse — the animal

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