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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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. mark — a grade
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. staff — employees
  8. ground — a position
  9. drill — army training
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. ground — crushed
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. last — final
  14. drill — the tool
  15. last — finally
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. mark — a trace
  18. last — to go on
  19. pitch — completely
  20. drill — a practice
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. ground — the earth
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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