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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 120 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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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: pass · band · chip · court · tear · shower · staff · saw

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. court — of law
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. chip — for betting
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. shower — to wash
  10. tear — from crying
  11. band — a music group
  12. pass — a permit
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. saw — the tool
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. tear — to rip
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. saw — the tool
  22. band — a ring
  23. shower — rain
  24. chip — to eat

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