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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rock — music
  3. kid — to tease
  4. cap — of ice
  5. spell — letters
  6. cap — a lid
  7. rock — a stone
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — hasty
  12. spell — a short time
  13. cap — a hat
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. staff — a stick
  17. spell — magic
  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