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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 120 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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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 · field · kick · tube · squash · chair · rule · snap

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. snap — to click
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. chair — a leader
  7. tube — a container
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. tube — the underground
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. rule — government
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. staff — a stick
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. field — for sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — to crush
  22. squash — the sport
  23. rule — a law
  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