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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
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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 · game · roll · wax · scale · chair · clip · cabinet

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. clip — a video
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. clip — for paper
  8. game — a match
  9. wax — to grow
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. roll — a cake
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — size or range
  19. game — wild animals
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. roll — a list
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. staff — employees

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