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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cap — a lid
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cue — a signal
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. chest — a box
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. ground — a position
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — for pool
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. ground — the earth
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cap — a hat
  19. dip — to sink
  20. ground — crushed
  21. chest — of your body
  22. date — the fruit
  23. cap — of ice
  24. file — a tool

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