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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: net · chair · craft · staff · wake · game · date · mark

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. staff — employees
  5. date — the fruit
  6. game — a match
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. mark — a trace
  11. wake — a trail
  12. net — for catching
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. craft — a skill
  15. staff — employees
  16. net — after costs
  17. staff — a stick
  18. game — wild animals
  19. net — in sport
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. mark — a grade
  23. chair — a leader
  24. mark — to pay attention

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