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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: craft · ball · staff · band · last · chair · net · bark

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. band — a music group
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. craft — boats
  8. staff — employees
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. ball — a dance
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. staff — employees
  14. band — a ring
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. last — to go on
  17. bark — to shout
  18. net — in sport
  19. last — final
  20. net — for catching
  21. last — finally
  22. staff — a stick
  23. net — after costs
  24. band — a rubber band

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