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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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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: pound · hand · spell · wind · tube · chair · plane · staff

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. staff — employees
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. spell — letters
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. staff — a stick
  10. wind — moving air
  11. tube — a container
  12. chair — a leader
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. hand — help
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. spell — a short time
  18. staff — employees
  19. pound — a weight
  20. hand — in cards
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — a tool
  23. tube — the underground
  24. spell — magic

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