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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 · cabinet · field · wind · chair · mate · lean · club

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. club — for dancing
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. club — a group
  4. staff — employees
  5. lean — to bend
  6. wind — moving air
  7. staff — employees
  8. field — farmland
  9. mate — a partner
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mate — a friend
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. field — for sport
  16. staff — a stick
  17. mate — to breed
  18. club — for golf
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. lean — thin
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. field — a subject
  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