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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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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: fork · chair · staff · mine · nail · stem · fall · wound

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wound — an injury
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. chair — a leader
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. staff — a stick
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — employees
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fork — in a road
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. fall — the season
  21. stem — to come from
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. nail — for a hammer

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