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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. hand — help
  5. dip — to sink
  6. pop — music
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. hand — in cards
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. lean — thin
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pop — soda
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. pop — to visit
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lie — to recline
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. lean — to rest against

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