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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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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: rest · staff · rule · chair · pound · field · bay · content

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. rest — a break
  4. pound — a weight
  5. field — for sport
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — a leader
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. rest — what's left
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. field — a subject
  12. rest — what's left
  13. field — farmland
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. staff — employees
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. staff — a stick
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. staff — employees
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. rule — government

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