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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.

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: charge · tube · cell · staff · field · chair · land · craft

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. staff — employees
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. charge — in control
  7. chair — a leader
  8. charge — a price
  9. tube — a container
  10. cell — a phone
  11. field — a subject
  12. charge — electricity
  13. cell — in biology
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. land — a country
  18. craft — a skill
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. staff — a stick
  23. craft — boats
  24. tube — the underground

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