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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: staff · bat · land · fine · foot · shower · pound · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. 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. chair — a professorship
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. land — a country
  4. bat — the animal
  5. foot — a measure
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. chair — a leader
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. land — ground
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. fine — high quality
  15. staff — a stick
  16. staff — employees
  17. pound — a weight
  18. fine — all right
  19. land — to come down
  20. shower — to wash
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. shower — rain
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. 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