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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: staff · chair · temple · board · bat · file · wave · court

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — a stick
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. court — of law
  9. file — a document
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. file — a tool
  15. court — of a king
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bat — the animal
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. court — for sport
  22. file — a line of people
  23. staff — employees
  24. wave — 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