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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rock — music
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. board — a committee
  5. press — a publisher
  6. cell — a phone
  7. club — for golf
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. mark — a trace
  10. staff — a stick
  11. press — to push
  12. board — to get on
  13. bark — to shout
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. club — a group
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — in biology
  20. club — for dancing
  21. mark — a grade
  22. press — newspapers
  23. rock — a stone
  24. staff — employees

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