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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cell — a phone
  6. root — of a word
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cell — in biology
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. root — of a plant
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — employees
  17. root — the cause
  18. rash — a series
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. rash — hasty
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. deal — to handle

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