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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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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 · staff · degree · rock · wind · content · last · mate

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. last — final
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. last — finally
  5. mate — a partner
  6. rock — a stone
  7. mate — a friend
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. mate — to breed
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. degree — from a university
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wind — moving air
  15. content — happy
  16. last — to go on
  17. content — the amount
  18. chair — a leader
  19. staff — a stick
  20. wind — moving air
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rock — music
  23. degree — temperature
  24. staff — employees

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