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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: wound · rash · season · pitcher · staff · rule · chair · bulb

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. staff — employees
  3. season — of the year
  4. bulb — for light
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. staff — a stick
  8. chair — a leader
  9. bulb — for light
  10. staff — employees
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. season — in sport
  17. rash — hasty
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. rule — government
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rash — a series
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. wound — an injury

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