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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 116 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: present · degree · file · drill · staff · chair · stock · rock

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. staff — employees
  3. drill — the tool
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. file — a tool
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. file — a document
  10. present — there
  11. drill — army training
  12. stock — goods
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. rock — music
  15. staff — employees
  16. present — a gift
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rock — a stone
  19. drill — a practice
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. stock — shares
  22. staff — a stick
  23. present — the time now
  24. file — a line of people

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