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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. spell — letters
  4. court — of a king
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. file — a document
  7. spell — a short time
  8. court — of law
  9. staff — employees
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wake — a trail
  13. spell — magic
  14. file — a tool
  15. lean — to bend
  16. degree — from a university
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. court — for sport
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. staff — a stick
  21. file — a line of people
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lean — thin

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