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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 116 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 · chair · pitcher · rash · object · fall · ground · deal

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. fall — to drop
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. object — an aim
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. staff — employees
  13. fall — the season
  14. chair — a leader
  15. object — a thing
  16. object — to protest
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. staff — employees
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. ground — the earth
  22. staff — a stick
  23. rash — a series
  24. ground — a position

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