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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. rest — a break
  5. staff — employees
  6. date — the fruit
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. rest — what's left
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. tube — the underground
  15. hand — help
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. snap — to click
  19. staff — a stick
  20. tube — a container
  21. hand — in cards
  22. rest — what's left
  23. spring — the season
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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