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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. staff — employees
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. staff — a stick
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. season — in sport
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bore — to drill
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. bore — to tire
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pitch — completely
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. staff — employees
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. cell — in biology
  23. season — of the year
  24. cell — in a prison

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