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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. kid — to tease
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. mark — a grade
  6. rash — a series
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. rash — hasty
  10. wound — an injury
  11. staff — a stick
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mark — a trace
  18. 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