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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 116 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. club — for dancing
  3. staff — a stick
  4. club — for golf
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bore — to tire
  7. net — in sport
  8. club — a group
  9. chip — for betting
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. net — after costs
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. chip — to eat
  19. net — for catching
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. bore — to drill
  24. cell — in biology

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