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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.

Make a worksheet

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: staff · wind · bound · prune · chair · last · key · pit

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. key — for a lock
  2. pit — in a race
  3. key — in music
  4. key — the most important part
  5. staff — employees
  6. bound — obliged
  7. chair — a leader
  8. last — final
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — certain
  12. last — finally
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. staff — a stick
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. pit — a hole
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. prune — to trim
  21. last — to go on
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. prune — to trim
  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