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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: chair · date · staff · current · ground · band · net · capital

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. net — for catching
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. net — after costs
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — a leader
  7. ground — the earth
  8. band — a music group
  9. staff — employees
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. date — the fruit
  12. net — in sport
  13. current — of water
  14. staff — employees
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. capital — money
  20. current — electric
  21. capital — a city
  22. staff — a stick
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. current — happening now

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