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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mug — a face
  3. staff — employees
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. staff — a stick
  6. last — final
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — in biology
  11. mug — to rob
  12. hand — help
  13. last — finally
  14. mug — a cup
  15. cell — a phone
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. last — to go on

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