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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: chair · object · hand · date · suit · staff · rule · last

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. suit — in cards
  3. last — final
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. rule — a law
  6. staff — employees
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. chair — a leader
  9. date — the fruit
  10. hand — help
  11. suit — clothes
  12. hand — in cards
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — an aim
  15. rule — government
  16. object — to protest
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. last — to go on
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. suit — to fit
  22. last — finally
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a professorship

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