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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · bat · cell · chair · fine · pitcher · shower · calf

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  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. chair — to sit on
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — all right
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — a stick
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. chair — a leader
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. shower — to wash
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bat — the animal
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — in biology
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. shower — rain
  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