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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: staff · game · roll · stick · chair · rash · wax · current

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. roll — a cake
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. staff — employees
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. game — wild animals
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. game — a match
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. roll — a list
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rash — hasty
  17. current — electric
  18. current — of water
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. rash — a series
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. current — happening now
  24. wax — to grow

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