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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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. firm — steady
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. bat — the animal
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. row — to paddle
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. row — a line
  17. sharp — clever
  18. perch — the fish
  19. firm — a company
  20. firm — decided
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. deal — to handle
  24. deal — an agreement

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