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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: tube · wake · shower · craft · chair · staff · date · roll

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. roll — a cake
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — a skill
  5. tube — the underground
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. craft — boats
  12. staff — a stick
  13. staff — employees
  14. tube — a container
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. staff — employees
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. roll — a list
  23. date — the fruit
  24. tube — in a tire

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