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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: roll · staff · field · chair · game · hand · nail · bore

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. game — a match
  3. staff — employees
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. field — for sport
  6. hand — in cards
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. chair — a leader
  9. staff — employees
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. field — farmland
  12. bore — to tire
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a list
  15. bore — to drill
  16. staff — a stick
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. field — a subject
  19. game — wild animals
  20. roll — a cake
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. chair — to sit on

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