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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · mate · field · scale · tube · date · land · chair

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. scale — in music
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. staff — employees
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. staff — a stick
  7. land — to come down
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. tube — a container
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. date — the fruit
  14. mate — to breed
  15. staff — employees
  16. mate — a friend
  17. field — farmland
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. land — a country
  20. scale — size or range
  21. land — ground
  22. mate — a partner
  23. field — a subject
  24. chair — a leader

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