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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: cabinet · degree · mouse · chair · bulb · staff · capital · net

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. staff — employees
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. capital — money
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bulb — for light
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. staff — a stick
  14. degree — temperature
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — for catching
  18. staff — employees
  19. bulb — for light
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. capital — a city
  22. net — in sport
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. degree — from a university

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