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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. staff — employees
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. hand — in cards
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. land — a country
  8. tube — the underground
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. face — to confront
  11. land — to come down
  12. last — finally
  13. tube — a container
  14. last — to go on
  15. spring — a coil
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. spring — the season
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. staff — employees
  20. spring — of water
  21. last — final
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. land — ground

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