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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: staff · saw · nail · patient · chair · content

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  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. content — the amount
  2. chair — a leader
  3. staff — employees
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. saw — the tool
  8. staff — a stick
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. saw — the tool
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. content — happy
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. patient — a sick person
  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