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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · branch · mine · tear · field · current · chair · fall

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. current — happening now
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. tear — from crying
  15. staff — a stick
  16. field — farmland
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. current — of water
  20. staff — employees
  21. current — electric
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. branch — of a bank

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