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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 120 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: chest · chair · mouse · tube · plane · staff · game · drill

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. tube — the underground
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. staff — employees
  5. drill — a practice
  6. chest — a box
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chair — a leader
  13. game — a match
  14. plane — a tool
  15. tube — a container
  16. staff — a stick
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. drill — the tool
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. drill — army training
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. staff — employees

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