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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.

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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: suit · chair · last · staff · rest · degree · tube · wind

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. suit — in cards
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rest — a break
  6. degree — an amount
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rest — what's left
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. chair — a leader
  13. suit — clothes
  14. tube — a container
  15. rest — what's left
  16. staff — a stick
  17. degree — temperature
  18. last — final
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wind — moving air
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. last — finally
  23. suit — to fit
  24. last — to go 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