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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: hand · cue · staff · bore · chair · tear · track · season

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. staff — a stick
  6. bore — to drill
  7. tear — to rip
  8. track — a song
  9. track — a path
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. track — to keep track
  14. cue — for pool
  15. bore — to tire
  16. tear — from crying
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cue — a hint
  20. staff — employees
  21. hand — help
  22. staff — employees
  23. cue — a signal
  24. chair — a leader

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