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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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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: cold · chair · leaves · craft · tear · staff

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. staff — employees
  9. tear — to rip
  10. chair — a leader
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a skill
  13. cold — an illness
  14. tear — from crying
  15. staff — employees
  16. tear — from crying
  17. staff — a stick
  18. leaves — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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