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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 120 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. staff — a stick
  5. pit — in a race
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. march — the month
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. sharp — clever
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. field — farmland
  13. pit — a hole
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. field — for sport
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. march — the month
  18. staff — employees
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. field — a subject
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. march — music
  24. mouse — the animal

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