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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: last · file · plane · mine · season · chair · staff · cell

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. cell — a phone
  9. staff — employees
  10. file — a line of people
  11. chair — a leader
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mine — for digging
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a tool
  16. staff — employees
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. last — finally
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. staff — a stick
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — a tool

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