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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. land — a country
  5. drill — the tool
  6. rest — what's left
  7. staff — a stick
  8. drill — army training
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. land — ground
  15. staff — employees
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. drill — a practice
  19. wound — an injury
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rest — a break
  22. chair — a leader
  23. wound — an injury
  24. land — to come down

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