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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. club — for golf
  3. staff — employees
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. hand — help
  7. last — finally
  8. club — for dancing
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. last — to go on
  12. rule — a law
  13. staff — a stick
  14. last — final
  15. club — a group
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. rule — government
  18. hand — in cards

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