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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 · plane · coach · band · chair · spell · shower · bark

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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. plane — an aircraft
  4. bark — to shout
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. shower — rain
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — a short time
  15. staff — a stick
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. shower — to wash
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. spell — magic
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a ring
  22. staff — employees
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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