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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: fine · chair · pit · saw · staff · row · kid · track

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. row — to paddle
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. staff — employees
  8. track — a path
  9. staff — a stick
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. staff — employees
  13. saw — the tool
  14. fine — all right
  15. pit — in a race
  16. fine — high quality
  17. track — a song
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pit — a hole
  20. track — to keep track
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. saw — the tool
  23. row — a line
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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