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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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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: chair · chest · pound · firm · can · staff · bay · march

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. staff — employees
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. staff — a stick
  6. chest — a box
  7. firm — a company
  8. staff — employees
  9. firm — steady
  10. firm — decided
  11. chest — of your body
  12. march — the month
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chest — of your body
  15. can — a tin
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. can — to be able to
  21. can — a tin
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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