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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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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. last — finally
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. capital — a city
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. staff — a stick
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. last — to go on
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. capital — money
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. staff — employees
  16. last — final
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bat — 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