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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: content · chair · face · shower · kid · staff · firm · jam

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. kid — to tease
  3. chair — a leader
  4. shower — to wash
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. staff — a stick
  7. content — happy
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. staff — employees
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. firm — a company
  12. shower — rain
  13. firm — steady
  14. face — to point toward
  15. content — the amount
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. kid — child
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. face — part of the head
  22. firm — decided
  23. face — to confront
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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