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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. staff — employees
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. staff — a stick
  6. wind — moving air
  7. drill — a practice
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mark — a grade
  12. chest — of your body
  13. drill — the tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wind — moving air
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. drill — army training
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. toast — bread
  22. chest — a box
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. game — a kind of play

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