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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. last — to go on
  3. rest — a break
  4. press — to push
  5. staff — employees
  6. net — for catching
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. last — finally
  10. net — in sport
  11. staff — a stick
  12. last — final
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — a publisher
  15. rest — what's left
  16. kick — in football
  17. rest — what's left
  18. net — after costs

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