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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.

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: mouse · degree · chair · file · branch · court · chest · staff

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. court — for sport
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. file — a document
  8. degree — an amount
  9. chest — a box
  10. branch — a division
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. degree — temperature
  13. staff — employees
  14. court — of a king
  15. staff — employees
  16. degree — from a university
  17. file — a line of people
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. chest — of your body
  21. court — of law
  22. file — a tool
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mouse — the animal

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