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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. bound — tied together
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. staff — employees
  5. chest — a box
  6. date — the fruit
  7. chest — of your body
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bound — obliged
  10. chest — of your body
  11. ground — crushed
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. ground — a position
  14. bound — certain
  15. staff — employees
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. ground — the earth
  18. date — on the calendar

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