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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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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 · press · foot · sharp · wind · deal · staff · straw

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. press — newspapers
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. press — to push
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — to handle
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chair — a leader
  11. sharp — clever
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. staff — employees
  20. foot — a measure
  21. press — a publisher
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wind — moving air

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