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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 · foot · chair · degree · sharp · net · clip · suit

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — for catching
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — employees
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. staff — a stick
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. suit — clothes
  12. sharp — clever
  13. degree — temperature
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. degree — an amount
  16. net — in sport
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. clip — a video
  20. suit — to fit
  21. suit — in cards
  22. degree — from a university
  23. chair — a leader
  24. foot — a measure

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