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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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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 · chair · staff · degree · arm · mate · band · hide

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. staff — a stick
  6. pound — a weight
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. staff — employees
  10. mate — to breed
  11. chair — a leader
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. mate — a partner
  15. band — a ring
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. degree — from a university
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. band — a music group
  21. staff — employees
  22. degree — an amount
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. mate — a friend

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