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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. hand — help
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — of a word
  8. fine — high quality
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. root — the cause
  12. key — in music
  13. key — the most important part
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. tear — to rip
  16. content — the amount
  17. key — for a lock
  18. content — happy
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fine — all right
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. tear — from crying
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. tear — from crying

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