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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. staff — employees
  3. lie — to recline
  4. deal — to handle
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. capital — money
  7. root — of a plant
  8. drill — the tool
  9. rash — hasty
  10. last — final
  11. rash — a series
  12. last — finally
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. root — of a word
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. root — the cause
  19. last — to go on
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. drill — army training
  22. capital — a city
  23. drill — a practice
  24. staff — employees

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