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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 · race · last · bowl · dip · chair

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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. dip — to dunk
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. chair — a leader
  7. race — the arms race
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. last — final
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. dip — to sink
  13. race — humankind
  14. last — finally
  15. last — to go on
  16. staff — a stick
  17. race — a contest
  18. staff — employees

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