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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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. staff — employees
  4. bound — certain
  5. game — wild animals
  6. lean — to bend
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. staff — a stick
  12. bound — tied together
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. chest — of your body
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bound — obliged
  22. chest — a box
  23. lean — thin
  24. wake — a trail

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