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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 120 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. staff — employees
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bore — to tire
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. wake — a trail
  10. mate — to breed
  11. rush — hurry
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. staff — a stick
  14. scale — size or range
  15. ground — the earth
  16. mate — a partner
  17. bore — to drill
  18. ground — crushed
  19. staff — employees
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. scale — in music
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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