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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. tear — to rip
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. staff — employees
  7. stock — goods
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. cell — in biology
  13. stock — shares
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cap — a lid
  16. snap — to click
  17. season — in sport
  18. season — of the year
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — of ice
  23. tear — from crying
  24. staff — a stick

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