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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 116 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
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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 · chair · clip · hand · mouse · squash · field · ruler

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. hand — help
  4. field — for sport
  5. clip — for paper
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. clip — a video
  9. staff — employees
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. staff — employees
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. clip — to cut
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. hand — in cards
  22. staff — a stick
  23. field — farmland
  24. hand — part of the body

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